Ghost King, Snow Queen
by catauragay
Summary: Elsa is intruded upon by a certain son of Hades one day when she's shut in her room... Little does she know, this one meeting will change her life forever; introducing her to worlds she never thought real, and unknowingly leaving her to fate's mercy, or lack thereof.
1. Chapter 1

Elsa watched the sky through the window of her room in the castle in Arendelle. She was bored and lonely. But, after nearly killing Anna, Elsa had to stay in her room and learn to control her powers. She'd been in there for four years. Alone. Sometimes she just sat and cried because she was alone. Elsa sighed, fogging up the glass of the window. She began to draw shapes, with her gloved hands, in the fog created from her breath. As always, she was wearing a pair of gloves. That day, she had on a pair of her thinner cotton gloves. Her powers weren't acting up much at all that day, so she hadn't felt the need to put on a pair of her wool gloves just yet. She also didn't feel that she needed her kid gloves, or her leather gloves.

In her breath, Elsa was drawing a snowflake. She was twelve years old. Too old for her current activity, but it was something to do. When she finished, Elsa wiped away the art with the sleeve of her dark blue dress, got up from the window seat, and walked away from it. She came to a halt in front of her massive bookcase. She smiled faintly and selected her favorite books. It was a large volume of Greek myths. Next to it, and her second favorite, was a book of Roman myths. Elsa settled into her favorite chair and opened the book. She began to read and was soon engrossed in the world of Greek mythology.

The blonde girl didn't look up when her afternoon meal cart was brought in. She was used to it, and wasn't hungry, so she ignored it. Elsa was absorbed in the story of Persephone and how the goddess was kidnapped by Hades. She was thinking about how it would be a great treat for her if _she_ were kidnapped by the god, because it would mean that she was finally out of her room for the first time in years, since she was locked in her room 24/7.

No, she finally looked up when a boy suddenly appeared in her room, muttering to himself. The boy had messy black hair, dark eyes, an olive skin tone, all black clothing, and a black sword hanging by his side. He was practically the physical opposite of ivory skinned, white blonde haired, ice blue eyed Elsa. He looked very strange to Elsa, who abruptly stood up and gasped when it occurred to her that this boy had just appeared out of nowhere.

When Elsa gasped, the boy looked up, around the room and groaned, but it turned into a yawn.

"Oh, not again." He moaned, like appearing in girls' bedrooms was a common occurrence. He was speaking English. "Sorry to have just appeared out of the blue like that. I uh…" He trailed off, and Elsa seized the opportunity to ask questions.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my room? How did you get in here? Why are you in here?" Elsa fired off, speaking English too, even though she wasn't as good with the language as she'd have liked to be. She stood up, forgetting that the Greek mythology book was still in her lap. It fell to the floor with a thud, since it was a large book. Both of them ignored it.

"I guess I have some explaining to do." The boy said with a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. He looked at the ground, but his face lit up when he saw the mythology book. "Okay, you've read the Greek myths, right?" Elsa nodded; her eyes wide with fear and surprise. She saw the sword at his side. She was inching towards the fireplace, where a fire burned in the hearth. Next to it was a wood box full of extra firewood. Next to the wood box was a rack with iron tools. A small shovel, a small broom, a pair of tongs, and a poker. These were for tending the fire and keeping the hearth neat. What Elsa was really after was the poker. Well, that was her first choice, but really; any of the tools would do to defend her in case the boy attacked her.

She had strategized what she would do if he did attack. Plan A was screaming for help. Plan B was fend him off with any of the tools by the fire. Plan C was run out of the room to hide, and Plan D was taking off the gloves and using her powers. That was the last on her list for a reason. She was afraid of her powers; afraid that she'd hurt someone again.

Elsa looked down at her gloved hands. They had a layer of frost over them. She gasped and stepped back; away from the boy, she didn't want to hurt him unless he tried to attack her first. Elsa examined how bad it was, silently praying that her powers wouldn't get much stronger or act up.

"…Well, they're real." The boy was saying. "The gods, monsters, demigods; all of it is real." He took notice of Elsa staring at her gloves as if she was terrified, which she was. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, stepping forwards, but Elsa backed away.

"No! Stay away!" Elsa commanded. She didn't want to hurt anyone else with her powers. She didn't want to accidentally leave this boy, who had done nothing to her yet, on the ground, skin ice cold, with a lock of white hair that hadn't been there before. "Just… Stay away from me if you don't want to be hurt." Elsa turned away from him, holding her gloved hands to her chest, hoping that her powers would calm down.

_Conceal it, don't feel it. Don't let it show._

"Explain yourself." Elsa said firmly. She had found that she could convince people to do what she wanted. She guessed that it was because she was a princess, and hoped that this boy would recognize that.

"Look, I'm really sorry about randomly appearing in your room with a sword." The boy said. Elsa took a deep breath, calming down. She turned back around, her hands clasped behind her back. "It was an accident. I swear; I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a demigod; son of Hades who got lost shadow traveling. My name is Nico di Angelo. I didn't mean to end up in your room. It was totally accidental." Elsa believed Nico. She took a deep breath to help her completely regain her composure.

"My name's Princess Elsa of Arendelle." Elsa replied, doing her best to control her powers. She took a good look at Nico, who was swaying. He yawned and looked like he was about to pass out. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. Shadow travel takes a lot out of me." He explained. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Princess Elsa." He bowed. Elsa felt weird being bowed to. She realized how little human contact she'd had. She realized that Nico would probably be the last person besides her parents and the servants she'd talk to for a long time.

"I suppose that if I weren't locked up in this room, I would not be so desperate for someone to talk to." Elsa sighed and walked over to the window, surveying the view outside. "The only company I really get is my servant Gerda coming in with food, to clean, and help me dress and bathe. My parents do come in from time to time. Other than that, I don't really have human contact. So, Nico di Angelo, would you join me for my afternoon meal?"

"I'd like that, Princess Elsa." Nico said, bowing again.

"Please; call me Elsa." The blonde girl said, making a face. "Only Gerda still calls me Princess, and I always have to remind her to just call me Elsa." She walked over to her chest of drawers and quickly changed her gloves to a thicker pair. She thanked her lucky stars that Nico didn't question her actions.

"Then, please; just call me Nico." The black haired boy said back, still smiling. "So, why are you locked in this room?" Elsa froze. She put a finger on her lips and motioned for Nico to wait a moment. Soon, the sound of someone running up to the door could be heard. A knock sounded on the door.

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head furiously when Nico raised an eyebrow, curious. He hoped the door was locked. Elsa didn't look worried as much as she did upset, so he assumed that it was, indeed locked.

"Elsa, come on out of that room! Let's go play together!" A voice piped up in language Nico didn't understand. "You can't stay locked up in that room forever! Can we just build a snowman? I'm lonely out here. Please? Can we build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman." Elsa grimaced and then spoke.

"Go away Anna." Elsa said, her voice full of emotion, and in the same language as the girl on the other side of the door. Nico could see that saying this caused Elsa pain. Clearly, she hated saying this to whoever was on the other side of the door.

"Oh, okay." The voice on the other side of the door said, keeping to the language she had been speaking. "Bye Elsa." The blonde girl looked like she wanted to cry. The footsteps started again, and faded away. She looked down at the ground and sighed. A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Are…" Nico paused. "Elsa, are you okay?" She nodded and took a breath. Elsa turned back towards him, her face unreadable. She had wiped her tears away and regained her composure. She was calm again.

"Come," She gestured, speaking in English again. Nico followed Elsa to an ornately carved table with four matching chairs. Next to the table was a cart with good smells coming from it. Nico's stomach rumbled as he inhaled the fragrances coming from the cart. Elsa gestured for him to sit, so he did. The blonde girl placed a large teapot in the middle of the table. "Hot chocolate," She explained. "I can't stand coffee or tea." A ghost of a smile found its way onto her face.

"Me too," Nico agreed. Elsa placed a tray on the table with sandwiches on it. She then placed a bow of fruit next to the sandwiches. Elsa placed a teacup and saucer in front of Nico, and then one across from him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Gerda always puts an extra set on. Just in case." Elsa explained, not elaborating on why, as she placed a plate in front of each of them. She dealt out silverware and fabric napkins in silence.

"Why? The same reason you have to wear gloves and be isolated?" Nico asked. Elsa paused, closed her eyes, took a huge deep breath, and nodded grimly.

"I-I" Elsa stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm not ready to talk about that just yet." Nico nodded, respecting Elsa's wishes and privacy, she wasn't getting too nosy about him, and would most likely respect his privacy, so Nico was going to do the same for her.

The hot chocolate was delicious, especially with extra cream. The sandwiches were of a variety. Some had been toasted in the oven, some were cold, but all of them were scrumptious. Nico scarfed down about six or seven. The fruit was juicy and sweet. Nico had been starving since he had first started shadow traveling that day. He was tired from his accidental detour. He knew the he probably wouldn't be missed for a while, so he relaxed and chatted with Elsa. She liked to hear about his life as a demigod. Nico soon discovered that Elsa's life as a princess was composed of learning a lot of what she knew from books, gazing out at the kingdom from the window, and telling Anna no when she asked to play.

Elsa was entranced with Nico's stories about the upcoming Titan war, and the things he'd done. She served a tray of cookies, but there was a faraway look in her eyes, like she was imagining leaving her room for the first time in four years. She envisioned Camp Half-Blood while Nico described it. To Elsa, it sounded like heaven.

Nico was, in turn, interested in Arendelle, its history, and the fact that one day, Elsa would inherit the throne and rule the kingdom. But that could only happen once she became of age—21 years old. Nico was thirteen, and Elsa was twelve, so imagining being able to rule a kingdom in nine or eight years was huge. When Nico asked her how she felt about one day ruling Arendelle, Elsa didn't seem as enthusiastic as any other twelve year old girl might be.

"I'm actually glad that this is a long way off." Elsa had said, looking down at her lap. "I'm not even close to ready to rule Arendelle right now." Nico, to take Elsa's mind off of it (she seemed to be upset at the idea of her ruling the kingdom, and not her parents), told her more about Camp Half-Blood and the upcoming war. But not about Percy Jackson. Nico couldn't bear to mention him.

When the clock struck five (Nico had been there since about one), Elsa's eyes widened and she began to talk quickly. She knew Gerda was coming, and she couldn't afford to let her see Nico. She might never see him again, if Gerda saw Nico.

"It was lovely to get to meet you." Elsa said. "I did enjoy talking to you, Nico. Will you come back again soon?" She looked desperate. Elsa'd had very limited contact. She would have something to look forward to if Nico were to visit again. She would have more reason to work at controlling her powers. Nico gazed at the blonde girl's face; it was full of hope.

"Yes," Nico decided. "I like talking to you, Elsa. I'll try to come back within a few days, and if I can't I'll be here later on this week." Elsa's face lit up and, she smiled. Nico smiled too. He would have something to look forward to, too. They were both isolated children who had been made old before their time, and had lost contact with the one person who understood and accepted them for who they were.

"I think you should use this room for coming and going." Elsa said as she led Nico into a room of things she had outgrown. In the room were dolls, clothes, books, shoes, and an awful lot of gloves. It was dark in there, but Nico had already explained that he didn't mind the dark. In fact, he liked it. "I only use it for storage of things I have outgrown. My parents aren't an issue, and Gerda never goes in here. It's a small tradition I started, since I have nothing better to do." She shrugged. "Whenever I outgrow something, and it's still in good condition, I put it in here. As you can see, I don't have much else to do. This is perfect, since I insist upon cleaning this room." Elsa prattled on. "What do you think, Nico?" The black haired boy smiled and nodded, still looking around.

"You're right Elsa; it is perfect." Nico faced his new friend. "Goodbye. I promise that I _will_ see you again soon." Elsa waved as Nico shut the door. She walked back to her seat by the window and picked up her abandoned book of mythology. She put it back on the shelf and selected a book of foreign languages. One thing was for sure; Elsa didn't need the myths anymore. She didn't need to escape from her life anymore. She needed to study up to become a queen.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ****I have gotten some questions regarding the pairings, how Nico arrived in Arendelle, if they will go to Camp Half-Blood together, what will happen when Nico disappears due to the happenings in Mark of Athena, and House of Hades.**

**The questions regarding how Nico got there (Since Frozen is set in the 1800s), if they will leave Arendelle together, and such, will be answered later in the fic. **

**The pairings however; this will NOT be a NicoXElsa ROMANCE. If you have not realized, Nico is gay. I am not changing his sexuality and taking away the LGBT+ community's representation in PJO. He is the only queer character, in PJO, and I would like that to change. He shouldn't be the only one. There will be NicoXElsa FRIENDSHIP, like the genre of this fic says. **

**I hope this answers your questions on the pairings.**

* * *

Elsa was waiting and writing in her diary. She was waiting for Nico to arrive. Her powers had stayed calm, because she was calm and at peace with herself.

Suddenly, the door to her room unlocked. Elsa quickly shut her diary. She knew that if her parents or Gerda found out about Nico, she wouldn't be able to see him again. Of course, they did have her best interests at heart, but they couldn't afford to let anybody find out about her powers, lest Arendelle lose a trading partner. Even Elsa knew that. Also, Nico wasn't exactly what you'd call a friend that her parents would really trust. After all, he always had his sword with him, and he was a son of Hades; the Greek god of the underworld.

Elsa stood up, and acknowledged her parents, who were the ones walking in.

"Mother, Father," She nodded and walked over to her parents, but stood at least five feet away from them.

"How have you been doing lately, Elsa?" The king asked her. Elsa shifted her weight between her feet.

"My powers have been calm for the past few days." Elsa reported, fingering her skirt with her gloved hands. "I have been able to write in my diary with a pen without the ink freezing."

"This is an improvement." The king said. "Remember; fear is your enemy. Keep your gloves on."

"Conceal it, don't feel it. Don't let it show." Elsa finished, She remembered hours of pacing, muttering her herself, 'Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel.'

"Good." The king nodded in approval. "If you keep improving, at this rate, you can see Anna again in, say, six to twelve months." The king and queen smiled, and left the room, locking Elsa in.

"Six to twelve _months_?!" Elsa whispered. She was determined to improve even more now. She sat back down, and removed her gloves, adamant about seeing Anna sooner than in six to twelve months. Elsa was nervous about losing her progress or hitting Anna with her powers again. The ink wouldn't come out of Elsa's pen. She had accidentally frozen it. "No no no no no no no no no." Elsa whispered. She laid down her pen and felt discouraged. She pulled her gloves on again and tried to calm down. To steady herself, Elsa grabbed the table. "Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel." She was beginning to break down into tears. "Conceal… Don't feel… Conceal… Don't _feel._" The tears slipped down her cheeks. The frost spread across the table. Elsa yanked her hands away and stood up. As soon as she stood up, the rug formed ice patches directly where her feet touched.

Just then, Nico walked out of the closet and stopped when he saw Elsa. Instead of running away, or asking her what was wrong, Nico created eye contact between them. His brown eyes were dead serious.

"Elsa, everything's going to be okay." Nico said firmly. He walked forward slowly but surely. "Don't panic, you're going to be fine. Take deep breaths." Nico stopped about two feet away from Elsa, respecting her personal space, but also being close enough so that all of her attention was on him. Elsa took a deep breath and let it out. Nico kept talking her through it, and she was finally calm enough so that she could sit down and relax without creating anymore frost or ice.

"Nico, you must have had practice… Where did you...?" Elsa trailed off.

"Friends with dangerous powers, observing an expert calming those friends, and dealing with angry Cerberus, and hellhounds." Nico responded. "That, just now, was not your fault, you know." He informed her. He was sitting on the nearest couch, resting.

"Yes, it was. I couldn't stay calm, and I lost control." Elsa snapped. "Nico, I don't need you to try to make me feel better."

"It's true. Your parents caused you to lose control." Nico replied calmly. "I was in there, and I heard them talking to you. Your father was scaring you, and putting too much pressure on you. Almost any person would have snapped." Elsa sat up and stared at the quilt covering her bed. There were curtains surrounding her bed that she could draw shut, but she liked to keep them open. Elsa hated to be locked up or closed in anywhere. The room was horrible. She had to create her own false senses of freedom to keep from losing it.

"So, I guess the cat's out of the bag now." Elsa said softly. "You know about my powers now." She studied her gloved hands, hoping that Nico wouldn't judge her.

"It's not that big of a deal." Nico sat up and stretched. "I have powers too, and compared to yours, they're pretty horrific." He fished for something in the pocket of his black pants. Elsa wondered what kind of fabric they were.

"I could freeze somebody." Elsa said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I could accidentally kill people." She didn't elaborate on freezing people anymore.

"Watch this." Nico pulled a bunch of bones out of his pocket and placed them on the ground. Elsa crawled to the edge of her bed to get a closer look. Nico tapped the ground next to the bones. They fit together like a puzzle to form a skeletal mouse. The mouse skittered and scampered under the bed. Elsa watched it with interest, not fear or revulsion though.

"Nico, before you leave, please take that with you." Elsa requested. "If Gerda found it, she would have a heart attack, and I don't want my family to accidentally find it. They would be scared out of their minds. And Anna was afraid of mice and spiders when she was five; I highly doubt her fear will have subsided since then." Elsa explained. She stood up on the floor and walked over to the window and surveyed the kingdom outside to hide the faraway look in her eyes.

"How old is Anna now?" Nico asked.

"Nine. She'll be ten in a month." Elsa replied calmly. She was acting like a princess was expected to. Nico noticed this, and decided to try to break the ice, so to speak.

"When's your birthday?" He asked.

"In summer. July." Elsa replied calmly. It was spring; the first week of April. "Please; Nico, as my friend, tell no one of my powers and I will tell you whatever you want to know about them." She pleaded. She had turned to face the son of hades and clasped her hands.

"Relax Elsa; I won't tell anybody and you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to." Nico reassured her. She was visibly relieved.

"Thank you." Elsa smiled. "You know that one thing I've never understood?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Hard telling." He replied.

"In books, characters say that it's good to talk about your problems with someone." She explained. "I don't get it. I can't talk to Anna, Gerda, my parents, or you about my powers. Anna doesn't know about them, Gerda has other things to worry about, my parents just give me suggestions on how to get a handle on them, and you have your own problems. Plus, you don't know what it's like." Elsa ranted. She couldn't really talk to anybody about her problems.

"You, you're right. People usually _don't_ know how to deal with problems like we have." Nico added. "They don't have the problems we have, so the advice is very rarely usable when they give it. They don't know us, and when they give us as well as they think they do, so it's not very good advice but they don't know us as well as they think they do, so it's not very good advice for us at all. It's not tailored to our needs."

"I hate it when people give advice that's good for them, but useless for other people." Elsa grumbled.

"Never mind bad advice; what about unsolicited physical contact?" Nico continued, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. Elsa winced at his words.

"Ugh, I hate that too. I hate to be touched. This doesn't just apply to strangers; this applies to even Anna and Gerda." Elsa wrinkled her nose. "I guess it mainly comes from not wanting to accidentally hurt someone, but still; I hate to be touched."

"I just hate it in general." Nico said. "Always have. The only person this didn't apply to was my sister…" He trailed off. Elsa picked up on this.

"I take it she is no longer with us?" Elsa asked gently. He nodded. "I guess, in your eyes, I'm really lucky to even have Anna." She sighed.

"Yeah, you are. At least Anna's alive, and you get to hear her voice." Nico said. "With Bianca… I've only seen her ghost, and that was a long time ago."

"Sometimes I wonder if it's really worth it." Elsa murmured. "I can never see her, and I always have to either ignore her, or tell her to go away. It breaks my heart. She was my best friend until I had to be locked up in my room." She sighed again, and covered her face with her gloved hands. Nico checked his watch.

"Sorry Elsa, but I have to go. There's a war on, back where I'm from." Nico said, getting up.

"I know." She sighed. "Are you going to come back?"

"Yeah, a week from today at the latest." Nico replied. "Keep calm for me while I'm gone, okay?" Elsa smiled dryly and nodded.

"Goodbye." Elsa looked down at her lap, and clasped her hands. "Be safe."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay… I have a confession to make… I lost the original chapter 3. It was 3.5k words long. I know that this is less than half the length, but I couldn't figure out what was missing. I did my best to include everything important that was originally in this chapter… But it won't be as good as the old one, unfortunately. PM me if you have questions, and I will be happy to answer them. I must apologize...**

* * *

Nico suspected that Elsa was a demigod. Not that she might now it, but he thought that she was one and did not know. First of all, it was the best explanation for her powers. Unfortunately, Nico did not know of any god or goddess of snow or ice, so he didn't know who her godly parent might have been.

Second, Elsa's senses and abilities, aside from her powers, were that of a demigod. Her senses were sharper than a normal mortal's. For example, she could hear when Anna was coming better than she could have if she were fully mortal. And Elsa could read Greek as if it were her first language. She could read it just as easily as she could Norwegian. (She didn't have dyslexia or ADHD.) Elsa was really good at speaking it. Nico had taught her Italian, but Greek obviously came naturally to her. She didn't even notice when he spoke Ancient Greek because it just came to her that easily.

Third, Elsa didn't look like the child of her parents combined. He'd seen the painting of the royal family. It would make a lot of sense if it turned out that she was only half related to her sister Anna.

Nico decided that it was only fair to tell Elsa that he thought that she was a demigod. She should know this about herself, especially if it turned out to be true. There were signs. Luckily, no monsters had come… yet… But Arendelle was isolated from the rest of the world. Elsa was locked in a castle with closed gates. It would be too difficult for any monster to get to her, thankfully. Anyway, she didn't seem like she was the child of a major god or goddess. No major deity had power over ice or snow. Poseidon was the most likely, but Nico knew that he couldn't have fathered Elsa. Her powers were too different from Percy's. Despite having no clue who Elsa's godly parent might be, Nico was going to tell her. She had a right to know.

* * *

It was Elsa's thirteenth birthday. Not that it was a very big deal, but apparently it was big enough of a deal so that she was supposed to dress up. Gerda had laid out an outfit for her to wear. Elsa actually saw little point in dressing up, as nobody would see her, but she did anyway. For once, she actually looked like a princess, in a dark blue satin dress that went down to her knees, and had white floral lace covering the bodice and acting as sleeves. To maintain modesty, Elsa wore navy blue stockings under her dress and a long sleeved silk jacket that stopped at the bottom of her chest. On her feet was a pair of white shoes, and white gloves adorned her hands. Her hair was pulled back into the elaborate bun her mother wore. Elsa also wore her crown that was hers from birth. The gold one with the blue jewel.

Looking in the mirror, she appeared older than thirteen. Especially with the anxious expression that seemed permanently painted onto her face. That only made her frown even more. She let out a sigh. Her appearance was, however, impeccable, if she did say so herself.

"Don't you look like a real princess." Elsa was startled by Nico's voice coming from behind her. She'd whirled around, ready to take off her gloves and fight whoever was intruding.

"Oh, it's just you." Elsa let out a breath. "Nico… you can't do that. I could have hurt you. You can't just startle me like that."

"I'm sorry." Nico apologized. There was an awkward pause. "Um, happy birthday. I have something for you, but I also need to tell you something." He gestured towards the window seat. Elsa pursed her lips together and nodded. The two of them went to sit with as much space between them as possible.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Elsa asked softly.

"Elsa, I think you're a demigod." Nico blurted out.

"What?" She gasped. "Me? A demigod? No… No… That-that cannot be." She got up from where she was sitting and began pacing in front of him. "You must be mistaken, Nico. You see, I _have _both of my parents. And a sister."

"Elsa, I'm not totally sure that you are, but I do see the signs." Nico said quickly, standing up. "Haven't you ever wondered how you got your powers?"

"I was born with them, Nico. You know this." Elsa snapped.

"Haven't you ever wondered where they came from? I mean, obviously you inherited them from somewhere. You didn't just get them from nowhere." He went on. "Or why you don't look like the child of your parents?"

"I look more like my father." She argued. "My hair and eyes are just lighter."

"Didn't you notice your uncanny ability to understand and read Greek?" Nico ran his fingers though his hair. "I've spoken Ancient Greek around you, and you didn't even notice that I was speaking in a different language. Greek comes as easily to you as Norwegian. English doesn't even come to you as easily, Elsa."

"Then who's my godly parent?" Elsa stopped pacing, and turned to face him; her arms crossed over her chest. "Tell me; who is it?"

"I don't know." Nico admitted. "I don't know of any Greek god or goddess of ice or snow."

"Nico, I'm supposed to be the heir to the throne." Elsa looked at him sadly. "I _can't _be a demigod."

"Elsa, lots of demigods, if they make it to adulthood, do great things." Nico soothed. "If you're a half-blood, you could do something amazing. You could be a really great queen, with your powers. Or… You could maybe go to Camp Half-Blood. You could figure out who your godly parent is. It just… It means you have more options, Elsa." Elsa let this process.

Nico had become a great friend of hers over time. The two had bonded by teaching each other languages. Elsa knew both Germanic and Romance languages. They taught each other what they knew. Nico had especially helped Elsa improve her English. She'd also taught him about customs in Arendelle, or just Norway in general. In return, he taught her about the modern world.

Elsa lived in Arendelle; an isolated kingdom. Well, isolated from the rest of the world. The way she'd explained it was that it was comparable to being Amish, but it wasn't really that close in comparison. There were isolated kingdoms like that around the world, but usually in Europe. These 'kingdoms' were Roman Catholic, and hadn't really industrialized past the first half of the 1800s, saying that technology was the root of all evils in the 21st century. There was no rumspringa for this way of life. If you went beyond the boundaries, you were exiled forever. There was no going back. You could either stay your whole life, or leave and never come back. Elsa had been raised on the bible, as everyone else had been. Industrialization had led people to sin more and more, so these communities banded together as one, turning their back on the modern world.

So Elsa wasn't really sure if she wanted to leave. Her whole life was in Arendelle. But then again, there might be a life for her out there… She might become something more than just a queen of a small kingdom. There was Anna to take over the throne, if she did choose to leave… But did she really want to leave everything that she'd worked for?

"I'm sorry." Elsa sighed. "This is just a lot to take in." Nico nodded.

"I can sympathize. It was a lot for me and my sister to take in, too." He replied. "You don't have to make any decisions right now. I mean, the Titan war isn't even over yet." Elsa forced a smile, nodding. "By the way, I did get you a gift for your birthday." He held out a small package. It was wrapped in black paper, tied with a white ribbon. Elsa accepted it, and untied the ribbon, moving the paper out of the way.

There, lying in the center of the paper was a dagger. It looked like it was made of glass. Elsa could feel the cold coming from it, though she didn't mind that much.

"Stygian ice." Nico explained. "It can only be used once, though. You stab it into the ground—it'll go into any kind of floor—and an army of the undead will come to protect you. Just give them orders, and they will carry them out. It's only for a limited time, though. Only use it when you really need it, okay? Whether you're a demigod or not, I want you to have some method of protecting yourself. If monsters did come for you…" He shook his head. "I just want you to be protected, okay?"

"Thank you, Nico." She said, actually smiling now.

"Hey, we'll figure everything out, okay?" He promised. "Take your time figuring everything out."

"Thank you." She repeated. "I just… We don't know for sure that I'm a demigod, Nico."

"I guess the only way to know for sure is to maybe find your godly parent—whether we meet him or her, or not—or we could see if you get into Camp Half-Blood." Nico told her. "But it doesn't really matter."

"I do want to know if it's true, or not." Elsa admitted. "I would hate to sit around… wondering for the rest of my life. No matter what path I choose in life."

"It'd just eat away at you, huh?" Nico raised an eyebrow, a faint smile gracing his lips. Elsa nodded. "We'll find out the truth, Elsa. I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely follows, favorites, and reviews. The action starts in this chapter! I know it's not nearly as long as last chapter, but that is probably going to be the longest chapter in this whole fic.**

**Disclaimer: I seriously keep forgetting to do one of these. DX Okay, in case I keep forgetting, if you think I own PJO or Frozen, I've met bread smarter than you. And if I owned either, there would be several changes made to both...**

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Elsa tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn't sleep. She had an idea on how deal with this shock of insomnia, but wasn't sure she should follow through with it. Elsa didn't want to leave her room for the first time in five years, and go into Arendelle castle's library. There, she would find all of the books on Greek mythology in possession of the castle, and look for a god or goddess of ice and snow. Elsa had decided that there were two ways for her to convince herself that she was a Greek demigod. The first was if she came across the god or goddess of ice and snow, either in person, or in the book she was reading. The second was if she was able to cross the property line of Camp Half-Blood. Really; either one would work for her.

Well, reading about a god or goddess of ice and snow would require descriptions of their powers, and Elsa would compare her powers to the descriptions. And hopefully the descriptions would tell her how to reverse the effects of her powers. Such as how to retract it, how to prevent it from coming out, and how to control it.

Elsa reached under her pillow and touched the Stygian ice dagger that Nico had given to her about a week before; on her birthday. She admitted to herself that she was afraid that it might cut her or impale her in the night, or that it might cut or impale her pillow while she was asleep. Elsa had an idea. She pulled off the wool gloves that she wore at night; for bed. She gripped the blade gently and carefully as not to cut her hand. An ice sheath formed around the blade. Elsa pulled the dagger out of the sheath that she made, and examined her work. She decided that the inside of the sheath could be improved. She carefully put a thin layer of frost around the inside of the sheath, to protect the dagger's blade. She immediately felt happier and more at peace with herself. It felt as if the storm inside of her had lessened—but only a little. It was just enough to help Elsa realize something. If she used her powers more, maybe she would be happier. Maybe it would finally stop the storm raging on inside of her.

But then, Elsa remembered that her powers were dangerous and needed to be controlled. She put her gloves back on, and the dagger into its sheath, and back under her pillow. She tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she should get out of that room.

The moonlight peeked into the room from around the curtain over the windows. She crawled out of bed and softly walked over to the window seat. Elsa knelt on it, and opened the window, letting the moonlight into her room. It temporarily blinded her, but she merely blinked hard, and then she was able to see outside. Elsa noticed the colors immediately. The northern lights.

"The sky's awake." Elsa whispered, placing a hand against the glass of the window. She smiled.

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Meanwhile, Nico was following a trail of frost late at night. He was following it for two reasons. The first was that he might be able to help Elsa if he found out who had created it. The second was that it was summer. Ice forming a trail in the woods, out of the blue, in July was kind of suspicious.

Nico stumbled into a clearing. It was a winter wonderland. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, bushes, and trees like a large white blanket. Frost coated all of the trees and bushes. A pond off to the side was frozen at the surface. The ice was apparently thick and solid enough to skate on, because a girl with black hair wearing a blue and white skating dress was figure skating like an Olympian athlete on it. The moonlight turned the snow blue, and the ice silver. The girl spun on the ice. You could see where she had been skating. Snow fell gently and silently, but there were no clouds.

Nico tensed. The girl stopped skating, and turned to face him. Her eyes were dark. Her skin was as white as the snow at his feet. In her black hair was a tiara made of what looked like ice. It was modeled to look like snowflakes. Her cold eyes analyzed Nico, as if she were looking to find that something was wrong with him. He placed a hand on his sword, which was hanging by his side on his belt.

"Let go of your sword. There will be no need for it." The girl said, smiling. There was no warmth or even pretense of warmth behind the smile. Nico obeyed, his hand dropping to his side, despite him wanting to be ready in case this girl turned into a monster. "I just want to talk to you about your… friend… Elsa."

"How do you know about her?" Nico snapped. He was extremely protective of Elsa since they understood each other, and had a lot in common. They were a salvation of sort to each other.

The girl smirked and laughed. It, like, her eyes and smile, was cold. She waved her hand and the skates disappeared; leaving her with white Greek sandals. Her dress turned into an ice blue and white Greek style dress. The tiara stayed on the top of her head and did not change. A cape, coming from the back neckline of the dress, formed. It was ice blue, and had had snowflake detailing. It looked as if it were created from millions of tiny bits of ice, which it probably was. The girl stepped onto the snow, creating ice where she stood. She was still smirking coldly.

"That one's easy, Nico di Angelo." She replied. "Elsa is my daughter." She held her hand out; palm up. She created a bit of snow; kind of a plume. Her smirk widened. "I gave Elsa power so that I will be known more. Once people meet her, and they hear that she is my child, I; Khione, the goddess of ice and snow, will be known throughout the world. I shall have worshippers finally." Nico bit his lower lip and then ran his tongue over his lips; moistening them as he thought for a moment. Then, he laughed. Khione's dark eyes narrowed as she strode over to the son of Hades. "How dare you laugh in my presence?!" She snapped, her lips contorting into a scowl.

"It's just…" Nico snorted, trying to stop laughing. "Elsa lives in _Arendelle_; an isolated kingdom in Scandinavia that is cut off from the modern world. She's stuck in her room. I'm her only friend. Only three people that we know of know that she is a demigod, and only two know that she is your daughter." Khione's eyebrows furrowed.

"Who are these people?" She demanded.

"Well, the three that know she's a demigod are you, me, and Elsa. The two that know Elsa's your daughter are the two of us. Your own daughter doesn't even know about you." Khione was seething. Clearly, Nico had infuriated her with his brutally honest words.

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, I will curse you!" Khione snarled. "I will freeze your heart. You never be able to give love, as long as your heart is frozen. Until your little crush on Perseus Jackson has been admitted, and he returns your love; in the same amount, no love can get in or out of your heart. Neither Aphrodite nor Eros can thaw your heart for you. Only equal love for your on Perseus's side can thaw your frozen heart. I shall also curse my own daughter. She will fall in love a little after first sight, and then her heart will freeze. Only true love will freeze her heart. The same rule applies to thaw her heart." Khione smirked. Nico's eyes widened, and he gasped. How did she know about his feelings?! Why would she curse Elsa too? Then his face went slack.

"Please; don't do that her. Elsa didn't do anything to deserve to be cursed." Nico pleaded. He couldn't help but hate the fact that he was doing this to Elsa. This was his fault.

"She made friends with you; that's enough to deserve punishment in my mind. Anyway; she is my daughter. I can punish her however I see fit." Khione said coldly. "My mind is made up, son of Hades. You're beyond the help of the gods now."

Khione fired a flash of whitish-blue energy at Nico's chest. The light was a blast of her powers, and when it hit him in the heart, he felt a wave of freezing cold wash through him and settle into his chest. It was enough to make him collapse to the ground. The goddess and her little winter wonderland vanished at the right second so that Nico fell in a fetal position on dead grass. He was alone in the warm summer woods; once again. He panted, and was able to eventually stand up with the help of his sword. Despite the warm night, Nico felt cold. He had tied his aviator's jacket around his waist, due to the heat, but he put it on again; zipping it up to his neck he began to walk; clutching his frozen heart.

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**A/N: Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please favorite or follow if you haven't, and also review. If you're gonna freak out over anything that I put in there that you didn't like, LET IT GO.**

**I'm in a really good mood right now. I spent a lot of time with my crush yesterday. :) I think I love her.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yeah, I kinda left you with a cliffhanger sort of ending last time. That wasn't a cliffhanger, by Rick Riordan's standards though.  
**

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Though he knew it was useless, Nico shadow traveled to his father's realm in desperation. He was still cold, but it wasn't as bad as it had been when he was first hit by Khione's powers. He decided that he hated Khione and wanted to kill that snow goddess. He stumbled into the throne room of the Underworld; shivering. His teeth began to chatter as he approached Hades.

"Father; please help me." Nico pleaded. "I have been cursed by Khione. She froze my heart." The lord of the dead stood up and looked down at his son, frowning disapprovingly.

"What did you do to cause her to curse you?" The god asked, sounding bored, but not the least bit concerned for his son. Nico's hopes fell.

"I-I laughed at her ridiculously flawed plan." Nico admitted. "She said that I am beyond the help of the gods now."

"I cannot help you then." Hades decided. "Honestly Nico; Bianca wouldn't have done something so idiotic such as laughing at a goddess's plans, no matter how flawed, and therefore succeeding in getting her heart frozen." The lord of the dead grumbled. "I have things to do, Nico. Stop wasting my time." Nico bit his lip in dismay, but then nodded before shadow traveling to the room of the one person who understood him; Elsa.

Elsa was curled up in a fetal position on her window seat; asleep. The curtains that were usually covering the windows at least partially were wide open. Nico guessed that she had been looking outside and then had fallen asleep. She was still wearing her nightgown, which suggested the fact that she probably had gotten out of bed to do so. He noticed that even in her sleep, Elsa wore gloves. These ones looked thicker than her favorite cotton gloves. Nico assumed that this was in case of nightmares. After all, Elsa had explained that fear made her powers act up without her consent. He figured that she didn't want to wake up, surrounded by ice and snow because of a mere nightmare.

Elsa stirred in her sleep. Nico backed up a little to give her a little space so that she wouldn't freak out from his close proximity. The princess opened her eyes sleepily. She rubbed her eyes and saw Nico. Elsa yawned. She didn't have the pulled-together appearance that she almost always had, and Nico had become accustomed to seeing her with. She looked… Almost… Normal, to the extent that Elsa _could _look normal. She looked younger, and less like the adult that she acted like.

"Good morning Nico," Elsa said through a yawn. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting me this early?" The sun was in the middle of rising over the horizon. Elsa caught sight of the grim expression on Nico's face. She frowned. "What is it, Nico?" She asked immediately. Elsa stood up straight. "What happened?" She asked firmly. Nico shivered, despite his jacket. There was still a fire going on in the fire place, so the room was a bit warm for Elsa's liking. Actually, it was more than a just bit warm for her liking; it was rather stuffy in there. Anyway, with the heat of her room, coupled with the assumed heat of the jacket, (Nico had once left it in her room, and in order to hide it from Gerda, Elsa'd had to pick it up and hide it. She'd gotten a good look at it; leather on the outside, and sheep's wool on the inside. It was also heavy, and would probably make a good winter jacket.) Nico should have been sweating. Instead, the son of Hades was _shivering. _Elsa was confused. Then she caught sight of his hair. "Nico… Why is a lock of your hair white?" She asked, panicked.

"What?" Nico frowned, and went over to a mirror. Sure enough, a lock of his hair was white. He looked at Elsa. She was shaking with silent sobs, her face buried in her gloved hands. Ice was forming where she stood. "Elsa, what's wrong?"

"The-the white streak." Elsa lifted her face from her hands. There were tears streaking her cheeks, but the tears had turned to ice on her cheeks. "Wh-when I f-fr-froze Anna's h-head, a-a l-lock of her hair t-turned wh-white." Elsa's lips trembled. Nico bit his lip, and thought for a moment.

"Do you have any scissors?" He asked. Elsa frowned as she looked around her room.

"I have a pair of sewing shears…" She replied. "Are you planning on cutting the white streak out? That won't last forever, you know. My parents tried that with Anna. It didn't work. It just kept growing back white. The lock of hair, to this day, remains white. It is more of a white-blonde, but still…" Nico sighed.

"I just want to at least try to get it out." He replied. "I mean, back at Camp, I'm known as the Ghost King. Everybody will want to know what happened if I suddenly show up with a blonde or white streak in my hair." Elsa nodded, opening the drawer by her bed. She pulled out a pair of sewing shears. They were silver, with flowers and her name engraved on them.

"At least let me do it." She requested. "After all, I am taller than you, and I can see the root of the streak. Plus, I am familiar with theses shears." All of this _was_ true.

"Okay, but I want to see it when it's done." Nico replied, kind of warningly.

"Of course you will." Elsa replied, walking over to him. She took hold of the white effected hairs, and cut the hair when the shears were the closest to Nico's scalp. She was careful, because she didn't want to make any sudden movements, and accidentally cut off more than was needed. When Elsa got most of the offending lock of hair, she set on the bedside table for the moment. She began to cut off more of the white hairs individually, so that almost all of it was gone. After she finished with that, she put down the shears, and grabbed a comb. Elsa moved Nico's black hair around so that nobody would ever know that a lock of hair had been removed. She stepped away to examine her handiwork before handing Nico a mirror.

"Wow," He muttered. "You did a good job." Elsa was opening the window, and throwing out the cut hair. She turned when she heard his compliment.

"Really?" She smiled. Nico nodded. Suddenly, the temperature of the room dropped severely, despite the fire. This was too much for Nico. He began shivering furiously again, and his teeth started chattering. He nearly fell to the ground, but Elsa caught him, and held him steady until he was able to stand on his own.

"Elsa, I have to tell you something." Nico managed when he was able to stand again, silently cursing himself for having withheld important information from Elsa, especially since it concerned her.

"Tell me, if it has to do with this." Elsa demanded; her voice tense. Frost began to spread over everything.

"Earlier, I met your mother." Nico admitted. "She's Khione; the goddess of ice and snow." Elsa frowned; furrowing her eyebrows.

"What did she do to you?" Ice covered the frost.

"She told me her plan to use you so that she would become better known, and I saw the flaws. So I laughed. She got mad, and decided to curse me. She froze my heart, and said that she would freeze yours too." Elsa's face drained of its blood, and she was pale as snow. Her lips began to tremble.

"Beware the frozen heart."

"What?" Nico asked.

"Beware the frozen heart." Elsa repeated, louder and clearer.

"That's right, _princess._" A voice as cold as ice said. A dark cloud appeared overhead, so that they couldn't see the ceiling. Elsa scrambled for her bed as Nico drew his sword. Elsa reached under her pillow, and pulled out her Stygian ice dagger in its sheath. She hurried back over to Nico as she pulled the dagger out of its sheath, and dropped the sheath on the floor; shattering it. "Be _very _wary of the frozen heart, _Elsa._"

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**A/N: THERE'S the cliffhanger! *Evil giggle***

**This is a reminder that no matter what you may think of Nico and Elsa's interactions in this story, they will always have a strictly platonic intent.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: TBH, I don't even really remember what was going on in my mind while writing some of this. I wrote it while I was in school. Middle school, where I could waste time if I wanted, because I was clearly a genius motherfucker back then. **

**I would like to tell all of you right now that if something doesn't make sense, you don't understand something, or you have questions, tell/ask me. I will answer the questions in a PM, unless it will give things away. I want to know if I left something out. Chances are, if you didn't understand something, or you have a question about something, someone else feels the same way. So do not hesitate to ask me. Or you could PM me. **

**BTW: Titanium (David Guetta version) goes really will with this chapter. {hint hint}**

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Elsa began to tremble in fear. Tiny fragments of ice coated her gloves; inside and out. Elsa looked down at them. Nico followed her gaze. He frowned at the ice-coated gloves. Elsa moved her hands behind her back and clasped her wrist with one hand behind her back; hiding them from view. She bit her bottom lip and tried to breathe normally. She slipped the ice dagger to Nico, who slipped it in his pocket without question.

Then, Khione appeared. She was still as pale as snow, and her black hair was a stark contrast to her pale skin, and white silk Greek-style dress. Her eyes were dark brown; almost black, but did not hold any warmth within them. There was a snowflake tiara made out of ice in her hair. Her cold smirk stayed plastered on her face. She was breathtakingly beautiful, but not in a way that looked kind or gentle. In fact; the goddess looked quite the opposite.

The two friends backed away from the goddess at the same time. Elsa contemplated removing her gloves and using her powers, but she was afraid of what might happen if she did. After all, Elsa was terrified, and as the trolls had said; fear was her enemy. Fear was the only emotion she felt at the moment, so taking off her gloves was probably a disaster waiting to happen. She could scream for the Arendellian guards. Yes; she would scream for guards, and, even though she would have some explaining to do, Arendelle's guards would be willing to die protecting their heir to the throne. Not that Elsa thought it would go that far, but it was good knowledge to have sometimes.

"Screaming for mere mortal guards won't help." Khione chuckled coldly, as if reading her daughter's mind. "Your little… _Friend _here would be of more help to you than _mortals._ But no matter what, demigods cannot beat me. Even if you _are _my daughter, your powers will never match mine. After all, you are merely a demigod. Your powers, despite you being my daughter, will never be as great as mine." Khione boasted. Nico's empty hand found Elsa's as she let go of her wrist. They squeezed each other's hands without looking at each other.

"_You're _my mother?!" Elsa exclaimed. "_You _are my godly parent?!" To Nico, she looked disgusted.

"Yes, _Elsa. I _am your mother." Khione smirked. "And I believe that you have a heart that is not frozen, but it needs to be. You can thank your little _friend _for that. You will have matching frozen hearts!" Her words were cold and cruel. Elsa was confused for a moment. Then it dawned on her.

"Oh, gods; Nico." Elsa's head turned to look at her only friend.

"Elsa, I am so sorry." Nico murmured, bowing his head in shame for what he'd done to bring this upon both of them. The blonde girl shook her head grimly.

"It's not your fault that she chose to freeze your heart." Elsa replied calmly, her voice grim. "But, even though I don't blame you at all, and I _know _you'll blame yourself; if it makes you feel any better; Nico, I forgive you." That did the trick. He felt as if a heavy load had been dropped from his back.

"Thank you." Nico murmured. "I am so, _so _sorry that this happened."

"I wouldn't change a thing." Elsa said firmly. "You've opened this whole new world up for me, and you are my first friend whom I'm not related to. And, you know about my powers and don't think that they're bad." She smiled at him. Nico smiled back.

"Are you two done with this touching little display of friendship?" Khione cut in. The two immediately frowned. "I need to freeze her heart, and you two are wasting time where I could be doing that.

"Yes, we are. Do it." Elsa whispered. She stepped forward adamantly.

"Speak up." Khione barked. "I can't hear you."

"I'm ready." Elsa said, louder. "Do it. Freeze my heart."

"I did not ask you if you were ready, or if I was allowed to do it." Khione snapped. "I will do it whether you like it or not, and when I want to."

"Please; don't do this to Elsa." Nico pleaded weakly. "None of this is her fault."

"Nico di Angelo, this punishment is for _your _actions and words. This is _you _doing this to Elsa." The snow goddess said, summoning a ball of energy that was entirely composed of energy from her power. The light from it was beautiful, and lit up the room. It was glowing ice blue.

Elsa hated that something so beautiful would hurt her. She felt the same way about her powers. They were beautiful, but they were dangerous and could hurt people. She hated that.

Khione aimed, and then fired the energy right at Elsa's heart. She did not miss her mark.

Elsa screamed as the blast hit her. She wrapped her arms around herself, hunched over as to regain her balance, as she had lost it. Her shrill scream lasted much longer than it should have. Nico noticed this, though Khione didn't. Nico realized that she was screaming to get attention. He assumed that she was trying to get attention of the Arendellian guards and/or her parents. In his eyes, this was a pretty smart thing to do. Elsa had timed her scream perfectly, so that Khione would assume that she was screaming over the feeling of the ice settling in her heart. It was not a comfortable feeling at all. But Elsa probably hadn't felt it as bad as Nico had, since the cold didn't really bother her. But still; the ice was in her heart.

"Stop screaming, you worthless girl!" Khione snapped. "It's a wonder how you are even my child even with _your _father, you shouldn't be this _weak _and _stupid._"

Nico grit his teeth, and clenched his jaw. He _really _hated Khione now; more so than he had before. Elsa was one of the strongest, bravest, and most powerful demigods Nico had ever met. Though, he didn't like her romantically. Their relationship (also known as a friendship) was strictly platonic, and that's the way it was going to stay.

"Nico, you know enough Norwegian to call for help, right?" Elsa asked in Italian. Nico nodded. "Tell them that Princess Elsa is in grave danger. Yell as much as you need to, until you get help." She was speaking very quickly, and with her Norwegian accent stronger than he'd ever heard it. Elsa wasn't particularly easy to understand when speaking Italian quickly with a Norwegian accent. Nico was used to her accent, so that made things easier for him.

"What are you saying, _Ice Princess?_" Khione cooed mockingly. "I may consider letting you live through this if you agree to become my slave. The Boreads would enjoy having a servant like you. I would make sure that my father—Boreas—wouldn't set you free. But, I will kill this son of Hades; he is of no use to me, and he would be a distraction for you." Elsa moved Nico out of the way of a dangerous ice shard aimed for his chest that probably would have killed him, by body slamming him. She was tall enough, and weighed enough so that Nico was knocked off his balance and fell to the ground, which saved his life. Elsa got one of her wool gloves off at the last second, and created a cushion of snow powder to soften their fall, as landing on solid ice would not be very comfortable or safe, especially with the force of Elsa hitting Nico.

"Aw, you care about each other." Khione smirked down at them. "All the more to break your spirit when I kill him, _ma fille._" The goddess cackled. Elsa and Nico scrambled to their feet. To get Nico to the door faster, Elsa gave him a push across the ice; towards the door. Nico was surprised at first, but let himself glide across the ice, while Elsa stomped on the ground, raising an ice wall to protect him.

"Leave him alone!" Elsa yelled. "I'm the one you want! Not him. He has nothing to do with this. It's me!"

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, _ma fille._" Elsa winced as Khione sneered. She created a cloud under Elsa's feet; lifting her up in the air. Snow fell from the cloud. "He has a _lot _to do with this. You are my daughter. I don't want you to be friends with him. Now, mother knows best, right? He shall die, and you will be my servant for all of eternity."

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**A/N: Yeah, kind of another cliffie... I will burn in hell.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ****TITANIUM. You know what to do.**

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Frankly, Elsa knew that she was all out of ideas that would work in midair. She could see Nico banging on the locked door, and yelling for help. Somehow, she had to protect herself and Nico, a in a way that she might actually have a chance at distracting Khione with and possibly disabling her for a tiny bit.

Elsa glanced down at her hands. She was only wearing one of her gloves. She remembered using her powers as a young child. She remembered how much fun it had been. But this time, Elsa would have to use her powers to catch the snow goddess off her guard, and possibly—though her chances were slim—incapacitate her for at least a moment. Elsa would at least be able to take a last stand on the cloud.

Elsa tore off her glove, and threw it to the side. It fell, like a dove shot from the sky, though without the blood. The princess blasted the ice wall protecting Nico; strengthening it by making it thicker, and making sure that she could control her powers to some degree. It was like testing the waters before jumping in. She was getting a bit of angst off her chest before battling the reason she had her powers in the first place.

Khione had created a snowstorm overhead. There was a strong wind circling around the room. Hair that had come loose from Elsa's braid blew into her face. The princess ran her fingers though her hair; trying to get it out of her face. Unintentionally, it stayed out of her face; due to her accidentally using her ice powers to hold it in place. It did make things easier, because Elsa could concentrate better.

"No." Elsa said softly. The wind drowned out her voice. Nobody could hear her.

"What did you say?" Khione asked tauntingly. "Be careful what you say to a goddess, for I can do much worse than merely freezing your heart." This did not scare Elsa. She decided that she was done with being afraid of a goddess who acted like a spoiled brat rather than a goddess. In fact, Khione reminded Elsa of a princess she had met when she was just seven years old. This other princess was about fourteen at the time, and she, like Elsa, was next in line for the throne. But unlike Elsa, this princess was an only child, and had been spoiled rotten by her parents. The princess had been unbearable, and had thrown a tantrum when told 'no', therefore thoroughly embarrassing her parents.

"I said no." Elsa said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "I have better things to do with my life than let the likes of you kill my only friend, and turn me into your servant." Elsa replied coldly, moving her shaking hands behind her back, and clasping her wrist with one of her hands. "If I want, I can stay here in Arendelle and inherit the throne; becoming queen and ruling this kingdom, which I've been raised to do." She shrugged. "Or, I could leave Arendelle, and Scandinavia all together, and go to Camp Half-Blood and train to fight in the bitter war that is raging, and learn how to use my powers to fight as well. Another option is where I also leave Scandinavia, and pretend to be a normal mortal girl, and lead a life as an ice and snow sculptor. Really Mother; why would you think that I, a powerful demigod who is also a princess who is next in line for the throne, who also has better choices, would let you kill Nico, and willingly become your lowly servant." Khione let out a scream of rage. Elsa released her own wrist as the goddess began firing blasts of her power at Elsa.

The demigod ducked. The blasts flew over her head. She was afraid that Khione would defeat her, and then hurt or kill Nico. He was the only one who understood her. Elsa didn't want to lose him. Then, she felt disgusted at herself for being afraid of Khione at all. A second later, she realized something; that she could be afraid of what Khione could do without being afraid of the goddess herself. The princess smiled determinedly, and stood up straight.

"Ah, you are funny." Elsa smirked, hiding any fear, and pushing past it. "Don't you know that I'm not afraid of you? Fear is my enemy." Elsa said, standing her ground. Khione drew Elsa's cloud right up against her own, and grabbed the neckline of her daughter's nightgown with her snow white hand, pulling the demigod closer to herself, and catching her by surprise.

"I am a goddess. You do _not _want me as your enemy, _Elsa._" Khione warned, her voice low, cold, and steely. "I am _very _cross with you right now, _daughter. _I rule the ice and snow." Elsa bit her bottom lip, but then glanced up. She reached up for the tiara that rested upon her mother's head, and whisked it off the goddess's head, and then unceremoniously snapped it in half. Khione gasped; shocked that someone would have the nerve to do that.

"You don't deserve this." Elsa practically whispered; her teeth grit together as she tossed the pieces onto the ground, where they shattered even more. "You give a bad name to royalty, _Mother. I _am the queen of the snow and ice. I think I like being called the Snow Queen. It has a nice ring to it. _You, _however, are a spoiled brat."

"You have just mad a very grave mistake, _Elsa_." Khione snarled." She released the neckline of Elsa's nightgown, and with one smooth and swift motion, pushed the princess off the cloud, and she fell through the air, towards the cold hard ice that covered the floor.

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**A/N: Yet ANOTHER cliffie... I am SO burning in hell...**


	8. Chapter 8

Nico realized that the ice coating the walls made the room soundproof, and his attempts to call for help were all in vain. No help was going to come from this. He turned in time to see Khione push Elsa off the cloud. Nico drew his sword, and began attacking the ice barrier that Elsa had created to protect him. The ice was thick; it would take more time to break through than Nico had originally anticipated. He was grateful of the shield from any stray blasts of Elsa and Khione's powers, but he needed to get out of there _immediately._ Usually, Nico would have shadow traveled out of the ice, but he had a feeling that he would need his energy for shadow travel later; especially to get himself and Elsa out of there, and away from Khione.

As he worked at creating a hole big enough to go through, it finally hit Nico how cold he was, surrounded by the ice. He zipped up his aviator's jacket to trap in his body heat, and continued chipping ice away from the barrier.

Elsa let herself fall backwards, and felt her back hit something soft. She smiled; relieved. She had landed on soft snow powder, which she had created for a hopefully safe landing. Elsa sat up, and regained her bearings. Nico was trying to break through the barrier of ice that she had created to protect him. She was confused as to why he was trying to escape from the ice that was protecting him while Khione was still angry and dangerous. Elsa decided that it was Nico's choice to put himself in danger just to help her. Frankly, Elsa didn't mind the help of someone who had a sword, could use it, and who could summon an army of the dead. She knew that she had no chance, fighting Khione alone. It was a lost cause, but she would do what she needed to do to protect herself and Nico.

"What's wrong, little demigod?" Khione taunted. "Too weak and defeated to get off the ground?" Elsa scowled and got up to her feet. She braced herself against the wind. Her ice blue eyes clouded over. She was sick of Khione taunting her; threatening her and Nico, calling her stupid and weak… Elsa stood up straight. The storm inside her, which she had been fighting the whole time, won.

Suddenly, Elsa shot her powers at Khione; knocking the goddess off her guard. Elsa wouldn't stop trying to attack Khione. She kept shooting her powers out of her hands. It was clear that she wasn't in her right mind.

"Stop that this instant!" Khione demanded. "Elsa, if you don't stop, I _will _kill you!" Elsa ignored the goddess's words, and merely kept fending her off with one hand. With the other hand, she made a few changes to her outfit, as if to show off.

Nico broke through the ice, sending bits of it in all directions. He looked around; assessing the situation.

Elsa somehow looked older; more mature. She had used her powers to spice up her simple nightgown. It was now pale blue with a white triangle part at the front that started at the waist, where there was a silver belt. The neckline was still square, with a silver lining. The same silver circled Elsa's biceps though the dress. In a medieval style, pale blue fabric with a white inside hung from the long pale blue sleeves. Elsa's white-blonde hair hung down, wavy from the braid it was now free from. Her hair was held out of her face by a headband that was composed of little crystals that crossed over each other diagonally, like x's. Elsa stepped forward, revealing her shoes. They were translucent with little crystals that centered around the heels and toes. The shoes clinked when Elsa stepped, so Nico decided that they must have been made of ice. He was amazed. Nico had never seen such an extravagant outfit that had been made from just a simple nightgown, and ice.

Nico snapped out of it and realized that Elsa was battling a goddess, and _winning. _She was being reckless; very unlike the Elsa Nico knew who was careful, smart, and extremely hesitant to use her powers. This Elsa was the exact opposite. Nico knew that she would soon get hurt if she went on much longer like this. Khione wasn't fighting back, but he knew that this wouldn't last for long. He formulated a plan.

Elsa's body was being strained. She was exerting herself, and would surely die of exhaustion if this went on too much longer. Khione began to fight; making Elsa work harder it wasn't safe for her to use her powers this much after suppressing them for so long. Nico had to save her before she died or completely lost control.

"Elsa!" Nico shouted over the wind. Her head turned over to him, but her clouded-over eyes did not leave Khione. "You can stop now!" He sprinted over to her, took her hand, and shadow traveled out of there.

The two found themselves right outside of the castle gates. Elsa collapsed on Nico, her eyes closing. The son of Hades had to find a place for her to rest that was out of sight before they could do anything else. Nico knew he couldn't be seen this late carrying the crown princess of Arendelle around the streets of the town. It would look bad. Nico scanned the area.

He saw no place where they could hide. Nico sighed, and took off his jacket. He got Elsa into it, so that she would be harder to recognize. He hoped that the citizens of Arendelle didn't know what Elsa looked like, since she had been in isolation. He scooped her up, and began carrying her bridal style. Her hair was in her face, which was a good thing for him; people would be even less likely to recognize her. Elsa, surprisingly, was lighter than she looked. When she had body slammed Nico, he hadn't been prepared for her to hit him. Now that he was prepared, she wasn't all that heavy. With the velocity at which she had been coming at him, she had more force, so it seemed like she was heavier than she really was.

Nico wasn't particularly going very fast because he was carrying a girl. He looked around as he crossed the bridge that connected Arendelle with the castle. He was trying to find the best route to get to the woods, where he would hide with Elsa until she woke up. To be honest, Nico considered himself very lucky. Khione hadn't come after them… Yet…

He was able to carry Elsa, and it was still dark out, and all of the windows in Arendelle that he could see were dark. The bridge was long, and he was getting tired from carrying Elsa. He had already been tired from shadow traveling. But he kept going. He had to. They were both at risk of being seen by someone looking out of a window, or being confronted by Khione. This thought was enough to get adrenaline pumping through Nico's veins. He kept going.

He began thinking about the Titan war, and how he knew that they had to win. Elsa would have a Camp Half-Blood to go to, even if there wasn't a Khione cabin. Neither of them belonged in the Hermes cabin, but that was where they would probably stay at Camp. Based on what Nico had seen, Elsa could definitely create a cabin of her own made of ice, though Camp Half-Blood probably wouldn't allow it. A Hades cabin would be nice too… But there were reasons that there were no cabins for either of their godly parents.

Elsa moaned in her unconscious state. She let out a sigh, but didn't wake up. Nico knew he'd rather that she stayed unconscious for a while, and then be able to walk on her own instead of her waking up soon, and needing to lean on him.

Nico was wandering through the town of Arendelle; lost, when she finally woke up. She moaned; her eyes fluttering open, and he set her down on the ground, and stood back a few feet to let her wake up. He knew that she would probably hate it if he was in her face when she woke up, so giving her space was probably the best course of action.

Elsa had been dreaming that she was wearing chains, and wearing a white dress. She felt despair, hopelessness, and sadness. She had, without Nico noticing, begun to cry in her sleep. She wasn't afraid, so she didn't freeze her tears.

A tear trickled out of her eye and down the side of her face as she opened her eyes. Things were blurry because of her tears. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Elsa yawned, looking around. She realized that she was wearing Nico's jacket. Her cheeks went pink from embarrassment.

"What happened?" She asked Nico, an urgent tone in her voice.

"You went crazy, and began attacking Khione." Nico informed her. "You made your outfit, well, like that." He jutted his chin out; gesturing at her dress, headband, necklace and shoes. Elsa looked down at her outfit. She stood from the ground, and touched her hair and necklace at the same time. She looked down at her dress and shoes. Elsa bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. Her breathing was ragged. She began to cry. Not because she was sad or afraid, but because she had been holding back tears for so long. Nico stood there, awkwardly watching.

"I'm sorry." Elsa apologized, wiping away her tears. "Go on; tell me what else happened."

"It's fine." Nico muttered. "Um, you were kind of exerting yourself, so I had to get you out of there. I was afraid you'd pass out from exhaustion right there, or die." Elsa nodded, and began walking. "Do you know how to get to the woods?" Nico asked.

"Yes. I may get us lost though." She admitted. "It looks different from the window than from when you're walking on the streets." She moved to take the jacket off and give it back to Nico.

"It's fine." Nico murmured. "Keep the jacket on. You may be recognized, so you might also want to have your hair in your face." Elsa nodded and did as he said.

The two walked in silence. They were walking quickly; doing their best to beat the sun as it got ready to show itself over the horizon. It was summer, so the people of Arendelle would probably be waking up early. Eventually, Elsa stopped to pull off her shoes, and held them as she ran. They were nearly out of town, but they still had a small distance to go before they would reach the woods. The sun was coloring the horizon.

They reached the woods right before the sun showed itself. Elsa put her shoes back on before continuing; going deeper into the woods. She brought them to a rather large rock away from the edge of the woods.

"I think we should rest." Elsa explained. "I think I know where we can go, but it will take a bit of time."

"Good idea." Nico agreed. "Where are we going?"

"Ever heard of mountain trolls?"

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**A/N: O****n my profile are some links to give you some visuals for the story, like what Elsa looks like, what her outfits look like... And... Yeah... Check them out!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: ****Okay, so I hope you enjoy this chapter. It gets kind of sad at the end. I'm feeling nice, so I'm warning you guys.**

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They were able to rest more frequently during the day. Elsa needed time to remember the route, and the map she had seen when she was eight. They did stray from the trail, but Elsa got them back on track. They walked more than they rested; taking short breaks to sit down sometimes.

"We need food." Elsa murmured. "I can make ice and snow, but that will only substitute for water."

"It's fine. I'm not hungry." Nico replied. "I'll get by without it."

"Nico…" Elsa whispered a while later while they were resting.

"Hmm?" He answered.

"Have you ever felt like…? Well; like you don't belong. Because of your powers? I felt like that all of the time after I was put into isolation." Elsa sighed, and looked down at her lap.

"I feel like that all of the time, back where I'm from." Nico admitted. "Camp Half-Blood… Doesn't have a Hades cabin. Or cabins for the minor gods and goddesses. So, I stay in the Hermes cabin when I'm there. I hate to do so, so I stay away from there. I spend more time in the underworld."

"Is that the only place where you feel like you belong?" Elsa asked softly.

"Yeah; I guess it is." Nico shrugged. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't know where I belong, to be honest." Elsa sighed. "I don't belong here. I am the crown princess, but I still feel like I don't belong because of my powers. I know I am meant for more. I can be great, but I don't think I am meant to be queen of a primitive country. I don't want to hide any part of myself anymore. I hated being forced to hide a part of me that will always be there. I want to be a heroine. I want to be brave. Here, I cannot do that. I just want for there to be a place where I can be myself, and where I belong. From what you tell me, I won't belong at Camp Half-Blood either. You have the Underworld. I guess there is no place for me." She sighed, and buried face with her hands.

"Elsa, don't worry." Nico laid a hand on her shoulder. "I promise; we _will _find a place where you belong; mark my words." Elsa nodded miserably.

"If I leave Arendelle, I can never come back." She blurted out after a minute. "The second I leave the boundaries, I can never come back. That's the rules. I will be in exile." Elsa hung her head. "Arendelle feels like a prison, yet it is my only home." She sighed heavily. "I feel so conflicted. I want to leave, but if I change my mind, I can never go back. I will leave my parents, Anna, and the only home I have ever known. I just don't want to make decision and then regret it later."

"To be honest, I'm not the best person to make that decision for you." Nico said with a sigh. "I almost wish that I were still in the Lotus Casino. That way, my sister would still be alive. Though, I wouldn't have met you, or seen or done things I never thought could be real. But I was just a kid back then; I wanted my silly game to be real. And it is. Because of that, my sister is dead."

"It's because of my powers that Anna was hurt, I don't belong, and that we're even in this mess." Elsa mumbled. "I wish that I weren't a demigod."

"Me too." Nico sighed. "We have to be strong though… We can't let Khione win." He stood up, and held a hand out to Elsa. She looked up at him, and then took it; getting up. "You might learn to control your powers, if the trolls can help you. Based on what you said, anyway."

"It was four years ago, so it's not a very clear memory. I remember that they said fear is my enemy, and that my powers can have beauty, though there is great danger in them." Elsa murmured. "My father decided to isolate me until I could control them. He taught me 'Conceal, don't feel.' I know you've heard me muttering it at times. It's a habit." The two had begun walking again, though they weren't touching.

"It was pretty weird at first, with you muttering that with your teeth grit." Nico chuckled. "When I found out about your powers, it all made sense. How'd your father get 'conceal, don't feel' out of 'fear is your enemy'?"

"I don't know, but pretty soon after I became locked in my room, he brought me gloves and told me they'd help." Elsa shrugged. "I became obsessed with wearing them; anything to keep my powers from showing. At first, I was afraid to wear anything but wool gloves, just in case I lost control. Eventually, I was able to calm down when I was alone, so I wore different types of gloves. On quiet calming days, I wore cotton, and on days when my parents would visit me with tips, I usually would have to resort to wool from them stressing me out. It was bad for me; them putting on so much pressure." She shook her head. "I hate gloves now. I mean, with you, I don't even need them." Nico, to be honest, was surprised by this. He was unsettling to most people, and her saying that his presence calmed her made him smile. He hid it though. Or tried to. Elsa, knowing more about him than any living human, saw this. "What is it?" She inquired.

"Nothing." Nico frowned again. He caught the look Elsa gave him. It clearly said 'I know you're lying, so spit it out'. "Well, it's just… Most people find me… Unsettling." Nico began. "Being a child of the Underworld, they have good reason to. You are the first person, who I'm not related to, who has said that they find my presence calming. It… It really means a lot to me, you know." Elsa cocked her head.

"Really? You're easy to talk to, you understand me, you don't have any unrealistic expectations for me, you don't stress me out by telling me useless tips to 'help' me control my powers, and I can talk to you about most anything. To be honest Nico, you are one of the most calming people I know. I know it's not saying that much, since I don't know a lot of people, but understand that you mean a lot to me." Elsa explained. She reached her hand out, and took his hand in hers. "You're my best friend, and I've come to love you like a brother, if I'm honest."

Nico felt his throat hitch. He felt tears in his eyes. It wasn't because he was sad; it was because he was happy. Elsa's words, though neither of them knew it, unfroze both of their hearts a tiny bit. It wasn't much, but it was enough to mean something.

"Elsa… I don't know what to say." Nico murmured. "You mean a lot to me too, and I love you like a sister. Thank you for what you said just now." The words affected him deeper than Elsa would ever know. Nico then swore upon the River Styx that he would find a place where both of them belonged. Elsa reminded him of Bianca, but she was different, though the differences weren't bad. She was regal, able to put on a mask of not being afraid, icy in a way that she kept herself guarded, and terrifying if she was angry or afraid.

Elsa wasn't better than Bianca, but she came in a close second. Nico wished that Elsa was also his sister. If they were siblings, their hearts wouldn't be frozen, he wouldn't be alone in the world, they would both have a place where they belonged, and they wouldn't even be in that mess in the first place. Frankly, Nico had always wished he'd had a twin or younger sister. He felt protective of Elsa, since she was like his younger sister. He found himself wondering how she'd look with black hair, brown eyes, and an olive complexion, like Bianca. He wished that she had been born as his biological twin sister. He imagined how much better his life would have turned out to be, had they been twins.

Elsa wouldn't have joined the Hunters. She would have been there to share his tears when he found out that Bianca died. Elsa would not have trusted Minos. They would have declared themselves Ghost Prince and Ghost Princess. They would have learned to master their abilities together; working as a unit; in tandem.

Nico got lost in this wish, and his imagination, was detached, and not prepared for when Elsa hissed, "Run! We've been spotted!"

"What? Oh!" Nico was tugged by Elsa as she ran. He ran too, and glanced at her face. He was caught off guard by her fair complexion, white-blonde hair, and icy blue eyes. He had truly convinced himself for a moment there… he was disappointed. Nico just wanted a sister. A real sister. Elsa was the next best thing; she just wasn't a real sister.

"We've been spotted by some people." Elsa panted. "We're both dressed rather strangely for them, so of course we're going to be questioned. Run!" Nico ran, holding onto her cold hand tightly. Elsa nearly tripped, but Nico tugged her forward; righting her up. Nico stopped suddenly, wrapped his arms around Elsa, and shadow traveled.

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**A/N: So yeah... Their relationship will remain strictly platonic, if you can't tell by this chapter.**

**Also, on my profile, I have a couple of links to visuals for this story. On my profile, I also have my pinterest, and my personal tumblr blog. **


	10. Chapter 10

Nico had shadow traveled himself and Elsa to a giant pile of rocks a few hundred meters ahead of them. The two were hiding behind the rocks, and there were several rocks covered in moss around them. Nico was tired from shadow traveling twice in one day, but he hadn't traveled very far each time, so he would be alright

Elsa gasped; getting a good look around her. She squeezed Nico's hand; leading him down a small set of stairs to the middle of the rock floor area.

"Trolls, we need your help." Elsa said loudly and clearly. She moved her hair out of her face. "It is I; Elsa; crown princess of Arendelle. Born with the powers of ice and snow. I'm here with my friend." The rocks gave a shudder. Nico placed a hand on his sword, but Elsa stopped him and shook her head. The rocks rolled towards them, and turned into creatures. The trolls; Nico guessed.

"Elsa, you have returned after almost five years. What brings you here now? Where is your family? And who is this?" One troll who sounded older than the rest of the trolls stepped forward.

"Please; I know where my powers have come from. I have met my real mother." Elsa announced. "My family doesn't know where I am, but it's for the best. This is my friend Nico." She explained. "He's the reason I know."

"We warned your father that the girl he fell in love with was not safe." The old troll sighed. "If only he had been able to love his wife the way he loved your mother."

"I have met Khione, and she didn't love him at all." Elsa sighed. "She is a hateful, and if you will, cold being. She froze mine and Nico's hearts. No love can go in or out."

Nico looked around at the trolls. The older troll sighed tiredly.

"You have an ability your mother never even gives a second thought to, and it is vital in controlling your powers, Elsa. Though it will be difficult to use it with a frozen heart, with practice you can use it. That ability is love." He told her seriously.

"But my heart is frozen!" Elsa protested.

"Love does not need to enter or leave your heart. Just remember love, and it will thaw. It will be difficult, but you can use it." The troll promised. Nico felt Elsa lean against him. "As for thawing your hearts, only true love can thaw a frozen heart. If it was one of your heads, that would be easy; simple even. There are only two ways for your hearts to thaw. Either an act of true love from each of you, or Khione retracts it." Elsa looked dismayed.

"What would qualify as an act of true love?" Nico asked.

"If the two of you were older, true love's kiss, but you two are young." A troll from the side said.

"We're not together. We love each other, but like siblings." Nico said quickly. Elsa nodded furiously.

"Love comes in all shapes, sizes, packages, and types." The old troll assured them. "The same goes for true love. True love can be platonic or romantic. Love is love, no matter what kind of love it is, no matter who it's between." Elsa squeezed Nico's hand. He didn't respond.

He thought of the love that was trapped in his heart. The love he had tried to turn to hate, but couldn't quite manage to. He felt tears come to his eyes, though he disguised them with a yawn. The love he was forced to hide was a mistake; something he had to rid himself of. There was something wrong with him. He didn't dare tell Elsa. She would hate him. She didn't know the truth. She couldn't.

"I need a place to stay while Nico is gone. There is a war on, where he's from. He can't be here all of the time to take care of me. I can't stay at the castle, because I want to learn how do control my powers from you. Please; may I stay here and learn?" Elsa asked.

"I wanted to teach you how to control your powers when you were eight, and have you stay here, but your parents would not allow it." The old troll sighed. "Very well; though it will be very difficult to teach you to find and use the love while your heart is frozen, it is possible, and you will stay here, and we will teach you."

"Thank you." Elsa bowed her head. "Nico, how long until you think you can shadow travel us back to the castle?" She turned her head to look at him.

"I don't know… It may be a while." He admitted.

"That's okay," Elsa shrugged. "We can just walk."

"The two of you aren't going anywhere after walking so far to get here!" A female troll said, shaking her head. "Both of you need a meal and some rest." Elsa and Nico both felt slightly uncomfortable. They weren't used to anyone fussing over them. But they allowed the female troll to fuss over them, for it was kind of a nice change, after decided to just go with it.

There was another boy who came to eat with them—Kristoff. He was the same age as them. He had honey blonde hair and brown eyes. He was kind of introverted except with the trolls and his reindeer; Sven, who seemed to be his best friend. Kristoff wasn't as reserved as Elsa and Nico. He backed off both of them.

Secretly, Kristoff was kind of afraid of Elsa and Nico. Elsa because he knew about her powers. Plus, she was the crown princess of Arendelle. Nico because Kristoff didn't like the look of his sword at his side, and Nico had looked at Kristoff like he was an enemy. Nico and Elsa sat very close together. Kristoff was kind of afraid to even look at Elsa for fear that Nico would take that the wrong way. He didn't know that they cared about each other like brother and sister; Kristoff thought they were together. He had good reason; Nico was very protective of Elsa, she was wearing his jacket, and they just seemed like they loved each other in that way.

Elsa and Nico had decided to talk in English because most Arendellians did not speak the language, since they were in the part of Scandinavia that spoke Norwegian.

"Are you feeling better?" Elsa asked Nico.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He replied. "So, you're feeling normal?"

"No; I feel like I could take on a whole army by myself." Elsa said with a shrug. "Before I met you, I usually felt lonely, bored, and afraid."

"Good then. That's good." Nico nodded. "I feel kind of tired, and like I could use a nap." He yawned a few seconds later

"We can walk to the town, and then walk back." Elsa suggested. "And minimize the amount of shadow traveling you have to do." She hadn't realized she had slipped back into speaking Norwegian, so Kristoff could understand. It was her mother tongue, so she sometimes accidentally spoke it when she was trying to speak other languages.

"That'd be best." Nico decided, still speaking English. Then he realized something. "Elsa, just now, you were speaking Norwegian." Elsa's eyes widened, and she glanced at Kristoff.

"Sorry for listening in, but if you need a ride, Sven can take you. I have a sled that works on both grass and snow." Kristoff suggested. Elsa and Nico looked at each other, and seemed to have a silent conversation, to Kristoff.

Elsa shrugged, and jerked her head at Kristoff. Nico took this to mean, _Do you think we should? I personally trust him to take us there._

Nico pursed his lips, glared slightly at Kristoff, and shook his head. Elsa understood it as, _I don't know. I don't trust him. He keeps looking at us funny._

Elsa huffed, rolled her eyes, and gestured at the trolls with her chin, then glanced at Kristoff. Nico got, _Nico, we should trust him. He was raised by the trolls. They trust him, so we should trust him to take us to the edge of the woods._

Nico bit his bottom lip, and shook his head, looking slightly nervous. Elsa got, _I don't know, Elsa… I don't want to chance it… If we make a mistake, I will have put you in danger. _

Elsa sighed, lifted her hands slightly, glanced down at them, and jerked her chin at Nico's sword, and then at Kristoff. Nico interpreted it as, _Nico, stop being so paranoid! I can protect myself if something were to happen. I have powers. You have a sword. He doesn't have either one. We'll be fine._

Nico chewed on his bottom lip, flickered his eyes towards Kristoff, sighed, and then nodded. Elsa understood this as, _I don't like this, but fine. We'll let him take us on his sled._

The blonde girl smiled triumphantly. Nico sighed, and reluctantly turned to Kristoff.

"We'd like to take you up on your offer." He said to the blonde boy.

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**A/N: You know, you should check out the visuals for this story. They links are on my profile. **


	11. Chapter 11

Elsa and Nico sat side by side on Kristoff's sled. His reindeer, Sven was pulling it across the grass. Kristoff sat in front of them; steering. It was getting dark outside. The sled was much faster than walking; Nico had to admit. And he was able to recuperate. That was a plus. Mainly, he observed Elsa. She had a faraway look in her eyes, and didn't notice him watching her. He decided that it was probably hard on her; seeing her homeland and thinking about how she could either leave and learn about her powers, and find her true potential in the process, or stay, keep her powers hidden, and rule the land she saw before her.

Nico wondered which of them had it harder. He decided Elsa did, after some contemplation. She had a life that had been laid out for her since birth, but all of that had been ruined because of her mother. Scratch that; her father, who'd been the one to have the affair with the snow goddess. And Elsa's father was the one who poisoned Elsa's mind with fear of her powers, hurting people, and mainly; being herself. She hadn't even known that love would thaw. She had relied on gloves to conceal her powers. She bottled up her emotions; she had known no other way. She had been emotionally abused by her parents, though they had meant well. Nico wasn't even sure Elsa's parents had really been thinking about her wellbeing. None of what they had done was good for her. To be honest, it had mainly benefitted Anna. Not Elsa; the crown princess of Arendelle. Anna, the king and queen's only biological child together.

They had been playing favorites.

And Nico found that despicable.

Perhaps he was prejudiced because he and Elsa had become close, or he was used to not having a mother, and his father wasn't much of a father, really. At least he hadn't been emotionally and mentally abused by his father because of his powers.

It was sad; she had a complex. She was afraid of showing her true self. Even after facing off Khione, Nico saw Elsa clench her hands into fists, and clutch her skirt, like she was trying not to let her powers show. Even though she had been willing to say that they could protect themselves from Kristoff; her using her powers, Nico suspected that she was still afraid of using them, and was just acting like she was okay using them as not to worry Nico.

Almost every day, according to Elsa, the poor girl had been visited by Anna, who begged her sister to come out and play. Elsa had to either stay silent, or tell Anna to go away, thus breaking the blonde girl's heart all over again. Nico had visited her, and seen that she would sometimes sit against the door, her hand pressed against the wood, looking longingly at the door. Sometimes there would be tears on her cheeks or in her eyes, or she would look like she had been crying, but both of them would pretend Nico hadn't seen that.

But he had. The truth was that it pained him to see her like that. Her feelings of despair did not go unnoticed. Nico noticed a lot of things about her that she seemed like she'd rather not mention, or have him bring up. And he respected that. He had things like that too. Things he didn't want other people to bring up, and that he avoided mentioning. The truth was that he thought that everybody probably had things like that.

Nico was brought out of his thoughts by Elsa squeezing his hand, and nudging him gently with her elbow.

"Nico, we're almost to the edge of the woods." Elsa murmured in his ear in English. "We'll get off about here." Nico forced a slight smile, and nodded. He frowned again. "Here is good." Elsa told Kristoff in Norwegian.

"I'll wait here." Kristoff promised, stopping Sven. Elsa nodded, and stood up from the sled. She didn't let go of Nico's hand as the two got off the sled and ducked behind a tree so that Nico could shadow travel. Nico pulled Elsa closer and took hold of her other arm. He concentrated.

They appeared back in Elsa's room. The tea tray was in the center of it. Nico headed straight for it. He didn't care that everything was cold by that time; he needed energy for the journey back.

Elsa, however, somehow found a leather backpack, and began packing things. Nico didn't notice that she was packing thick gloves, with wool tights, long sleeved dresses with high necks, so that the only skin she would be showing was her face neck. She changed behind the screen behind which she dressed and undressed for her baths. She was wearing dark colors again. She braided her hair neatly, and put on her normal black headband. Elsa looked in the mirror for a moment. She redid her hair like her mother had her hair. She had seen her mother do her hair, and Elsa had watched Gerda do her hair in the mirror on her birthday.

She felt like the hairstyle made her look more mature. She pulled on a pair of black gloves, and smoothed her dress. No skin was showing from the neck down. Elsa nodded in approval at her outfit. She unlocked a drawer at her dressing table, and pulled out a velvet box that was also locked. She unlocked it, and pulled out a gold tiara with a sapphire jewel. It was the crown for when she became queen. Her parents thought it would inspire her to work harder to control her powers if it was kept in the room with her. Elsa wrapped it in a handkerchief and put it in her pocket. It wasn't noticeable.

She then pulled folded piece of paper out of the drawer below it that was folded and sealed with wax. She had written a letter to her parents, explaining things to them. She had addressed it to them already. She placed it on the dressing table. She had already burned her diary. She couldn't afford to let anybody read about Nico. She had to protect her friend.

She finished packing, then grabbed a black cloak, and tied it around her neck.

"I'm ready to leave." Elsa said as she grabbed the backpack she was carrying her things in.

Nico looked up. Elsa was dressed simply again, which, looking at her, was kind of like jumping into hot water after getting used to being in cold water. Her clothes were dark and simple; very unlike her nightgown that she had transformed into a stereotypical princess dress, like from the Middle Ages. She hadn't given herself a tiara though. It had been the first time Nico had ever truly seen her as a princess. Even when she had been wearing her crown on her birthday, Elsa hadn't really looked like a princess. She had looked nicer than usual, though not exactly like a princess.

"Okay," Nico said, reaching his hand out to her. "Let's go." Elsa looked around the room for a good long moment. She looked… Conflicted as she took in the room that she had been locked up in for the past four years of her life. She sighed, and then nodded; taking Nico's hand.

Elsa, despite not having particularly good years of her life in the room, was hesitant to leave, because she knew that she might never come back. Despite the negative feelings about the room, it was her home for the past four years; more so than the rest of the castle.

"Ready?" Nico asked gently. Elsa nodded, and swallowed.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She murmured. She looked over at her jewelry box. Most of what was in there was meaningless to her; gifts from other kingdoms to the Crown Princess of Arendelle. But there was one necklace in there that truly meant something to her. It was a gold plated coin pendant with a lotus blossom symbol on a black ribbon; Anna had one exactly like it too. It was the symbol of Arendelle. "Wait," Elsa blurted out. "I-I just need to grab one thing, and then we can go." Nico let go of her hand, and nodded once. He knew of her reluctance to leave, so he saw no harm in her bringing one thing to hold onto in order to remind her of her first home, and if she left for good; the life she left behind.

Elsa strode across the room, and opened the jewelry box, pawing aside the meaningless things. She pulled out the necklace, and put it around her neck, and tucked it under her clothes. She began to think. If she did leave, she might need money for the world. She eyed the jewels in the box. They would probably be worth something. She took a handful of necklaces, rings, brooches, bracelets, and earrings and stuffed them in her other pocket. She left plenty of other things though. Elsa shut the box, turned away, and walked back over to Nico. She was finally ready. She took his hand, and nodded confidently; hiding her uncertainty.

Nico shadow traveled back behind the tree they had departed from behind. They stepped from behind it. Kristoff looked up and smiled good naturedly at them.

"Ready to go back?" He asked in Norwegian. Elsa nodded.

Nico and Elsa got on the sled.

Elsa looked back at the town; namely the castle she had grown up in.

To be honest, the only person she would really and truly miss was Anna, but Elsa supposed that she and Anna had grown apart enough so that she didn't think that her sister would really miss her, for the four years she had rejected her sister's invitations to come out of the room and play.

She thought of the four years she had been forced to suffer in silence, working and learning to become a queen, and the neglect for how she felt that her parents had shown.

_I'm never going back._

Elsa decided, as she turned her head away from the only home she had ever known. She focused her eyes on the horizon ahead of them; her liberation, and held tighter to Nico's hand.

_The past is in the past._


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: There was something in last chapter that I want to discuss right now. This is really important, okay? **

**So, Nico realizes that Elsa's parents were playing favorites. Which is true of Frozen. They suited Anna's wants and needs more than Elsa's. It is considered abuse. Abuse can be unintentional, just so you know. When you play favorites, the person you favor often thinks they are above the person not favored. This is true with my brother and I. My grandmother favors all of my cousins over me. We'll just use my brother in this example to make it easier. He, around her, was taught to think that he is above me, and that I am not as good or as special as him. I was taught that his wants and needs, around my grandmother, were more important. This can lead to a complex. I don't want to be around my grandmother, because around her, I don't feel like I'm good enough, and that I never will be. This is what happens when you play favorites. My brother, around my grandmother, treats me like I am lesser. This is why you should always treat people equally. Okay? I know this is a downer, but THIS IS IMPORTANT. This has happened to me, so please just read and understand.**

* * *

The King and Queen of Arendelle were worried. Elsa was missing. The Crown Princess. The one who had been so good about her education, and had worked so hard so that she could one day take over as queen. Gerda had reported that she had searched the room, and the crown and necklace assigned to their daughter at birth were missing, along with clothes, and some of the jewelry given to her as gifts from other kingdoms. All that was left was a note. A letter, from their eldest daughter.

Together, in their study, they opened it.

_To the King and Queen of Arendelle,_

_I know that you think that I should address you as Mother and Father, but I know only one of you is my biological parent, and I don't want to be rude in addressing this letter. I know that my real parent is a god or goddess of Olympus, like the Ancient Greek myths. We don't know which one yet; we suspect a minor god or goddess though. To be honest, do I wish I could have been born normal, but I must accept what the gods have given me, and make the best of it. I was born with these powers for a reason. I intend to walk the path of life, and figure out the reason along the way. I am sorry that it had to be like this, but I believe that I am doing what is best for all of us. I wrote this letter ahead of time, so by the time you read this, I might have not had time to write a new letter explaining any updates, or I might have; I don't know right now. If there is another letter, I know myself; I will have placed it with this one. I must explain a few things to you now._

_ I was lost and lonely because of my isolation. I began to hate my powers; a part of me that you were teaching me to hide, to fear, to hate, and to be ashamed of. I must say that it taught me to be afraid of myself, and rely on gloves to conceal that part of me. It taught me to bottle up my feelings, so I would relapse again and again. My negative feelings would grow, so my power got stronger than it would have if I had learned how to control them properly, I think. I am sorry to say that your visits stressed me out, and terrified me of myself even more. I am sorry, but it's the truth. _

_ I met a friend. He has helped me to be at peace with myself, and he told me that I am a demigod. Though, right now, like I mentioned earlier, we didn't know which godly parent at the time, nor do we know as I write this. He has been there for me; he and I would probably go beyond the grave together for each other. He has helped me in so many ways, and I hope that I have helped him. He is about my age, so there's no need to fear for my safety. He has powers too, though he only hides them from mortals such as yourselves and Anna. He is the brother I never had. Though, he won't ever replace Anna in my heart._

_ There is a war on where he's from, so he cannot take me away right now. Something may come up though, and he may have to hide me somewhere until the war is over. If I know him, he would make sure that the place is the safest for me that it can possibly be. I still not really very comfortable in using my powers, but I think that if I absolutely had to, I could summon up enough courage to use them to defend myself. That would only be a last resort though. Gloves do help me, because when the insides get coated in ice, I know that I need to relax. But I cannot rely on them for too much longer. My friend told me that gloves are no longer the fashion in the modern world. I've decided that I need to learn to control my powers without the gloves. I've been using them for four years. I need to learn to go without them._

_ I will no longer be your perfect little daughter. That role will go to Anna. There is still plenty of time to educate her so that she will be an adequate queen one day. I am sorry that I must leave, but it is for the best. Anna doesn't have powers, and the white streak is easy to cover up. However, my powers are not a phase that I will get over with isolation, religion, or the help of gloves. They are here to stay. My powers and I are a package deal. If you want a child without powers, I strongly advise that you look to Anna, not me. After all, she is the biological child of both of you, and she is mortal. Unlike me. To be honest, she would have been the better choice, and should have been born before me. She should be the heir to the throne._

_ To be honest, I don't know if I will or if I won't come back to Arendelle. Let's assume, after you have read this, that I will cross the boundaries and leave. It's not that I really want to; after all, Arendelle is the only home I have ever known, and this castle is too. But it has become more of a prison to me than home. I do wish to find a home; a place where I will belong. According to my friend, there might be. It might be a safe place for me to live and go through life. It won't be easy, since it will be in the outside world. I will have to adapt. It will be a big transition in my life. Please trust that I know what I am doing, and that I will be okay. I am sorry that I must leave, but who knows? Maybe I will make a life for myself in the outside world and become successful?_

_ I'm sorry,_

_ Elsa_

The king and queen finished reading the letter within seconds of each other. Their eyes met.

"Oh, Elsa," The queen whispered, touching the paper and the words written by their eldest child. The queen leaned her head on the king's shoulder, and began to cry. To her, her first baby was as good as dead.

One morning, thirteen years ago, a basket woven of ice had appeared on the balcony outside their bedroom with Elsa inside it. The queen had been conveniently sick for months, and she was feeling better that week. All of Arendelle believed that the queen had been with child when they emerged from the castle with her cradling their new child in her arms. She had been so proud of her new baby. But once they realized that she had powers, the king had forbidden his wife from taking care of Elsa. He hadn't wanted her to get hurt, and it to be his fault. So Gerda took over in caring for Elsa. Her powers had made themselves known when she was almost a year old, when the queen's sister and husband, the king and queen of Corona, visited. Their own daughter, Rapunzel, had been kidnapped, so the queen of Corona hadn't gotten a chance to hold a baby in so long. When she first held Elsa, the princess had begun crying, and where she touched the queen of Corona's dress had frost form over it.

The king of Corona vowed that they would never come to Arendelle again, and nor would they expose the truth about Elsa. The king of Arendelle had forbid his wife from caring for Elsa, lest something happened.

The queen spent a lot of time with her daughter. She liked to spend as much time as possible with her, to the king's displeasure.

Three years after Elsa arrived; they had their first baby together. Anna. The king let her take care of Anna. She wished that she could raise both of them. Once Anna could walk and talk, the queen decided to leave her to Gerda's care. It pained her, but she couldn't bear to be close with Anna when she couldn't be that way with Elsa.

The king was secretly relieved when he read the letter. Elsa was a burden. She was a product of his lust for a girl who had so easily seduced him, and lured him into her bed. It was right before he married his current wife. The woman was exotic, and cold to the touch. And he loved it. He regretted that she'd sent him her child. His bastard child. Elsa was a mistake, if he was honest.

He loved Anna more. She wasn't out of wedlock, nor did she have powers. She was normal. It would have been better if Anna had been born first, and then he'd had his fling with the mysterious girl. It was much easier now that Elsa was gone, if he was honest. The consequence of his actions was finally gone.

* * *

**A/N: The 'playing favorites' theme did continue in this chapter. I am glad that I explained to you guys what it does to a child.**


	13. Chapter 13

Elsa walked into the cave where she slept and kept her things. The trolls had prepared it especially for her. She had felt so touched when she saw it. They cared about her. It was, at first, strange and new, but she liked it. She grew to love the feeling that someone besides Nico truly cared about her. It was refreshing from feeling like nobody except Nico cared.

Elsa pulled on her gloves again, and sat down on her bed. She laid back and closed her eyes for a minute, just breathing and relaxing.

To be honest, she didn't need her gloves, but Elsa didn't think that. She worried that she would accidentally lose control and hurt Kristoff or Sven, since the trolls would be alright if she accidentally hit them. They had assured her that they would be fine, and Elsa finally believed them after a while.

She was calmer and a lot less stressed than she had been living in Arendelle Castle. The trolls gently encouraged her; they didn't put pressure on her. They allowed her time alone to gain control, and still treating her with the same love they always did. The trolls had been nothing but kind, loving, and caring to Elsa. In the castle, she had usually been wearing an anxious frown or a crestfallen expression on her face, but around the trolls, she smiled more. The smile was usually pretty faint when Nico wasn't around. But it was there. That's what mattered.

Elsa was stuck with the love she had developed before Khione had frozen her heart. And that was the love she had for Anna and Nico. It was all platonic.

That was the only love she could feel. No love could penetrate or escape her frozen heart. The trolls told her that the only other cure, besides what Khione had said, was an act of true love. She didn't know what an act of true love would consist of, but she knew that she couldn't really commit an act of true love when she was just with the trolls.

Elsa sat up on her bed, and pulled off her gloves. She stepped in front of the small mirror in the room (really, it was just a reflective plate of water. The candles were lit near it, so that Elsa could see herself in it. She let her hair down from the bun she was keeping it in, and brushed it out so that it was in its plainest form. She disliked how elaborate the bun was. She may have been a princess, but there was no reason for her to do her hair like that.

There was only one reason that she kept it like that.

Elsa was secretly afraid to let go of the past. The bun was how her mother had her own hair day in and day out. It was one way to hold onto one neutral part of her life. It was something so simple, but it was so hard for her to let go of it. It was the one thing she couldn't let go of. Not completely.

Her past was actually as much of a part of her as her powers, if Elsa thought about it. It had shaped her into the person she had become. Had she had different powers, or a different past, she probably wouldn't have been where she was right then.

Elsa took a breath, and wove her hair into one braid down her back, and kept her hair in place with a black headband. Just like when she was a kid.

She pulled her gloves back on, smoothed her clothes so that they were neat, and put her cape on. She looked at her reflection again. The necklace with the lotus blossom was around her neck, though it was tucked under her clothes. It was close to her heart. Her frozen heart.

Elsa walked out of the cave, and looked around serenely. She was holding onto her own wrist with one of her hands. She noticed a familiar figure talking to Grand Pabbie. The figure was wearing an aviator's jacket, and a Stygian Iron sword was strapped into his belt. Elsa grinned.

"Nico!" She exclaimed happily. She uncharacteristically ran over to him, and he caught her in hug. They embraced for a few beats, but then they quickly released each other. Elsa kept smiling though. They joined hands.

Elsa's heart seemed to lighten a bit.

"Nice to finally have a break from the war preparations." Nico commented. "Thanks for your time, Grand Pabbie." Nico bowed, and Elsa curtsied, as they liked to show respect to the old and wise. They had both been raised or had learned to. Elsa more so than Nico.

The two strolled over to their own private corner. They were silent until they exited earshot from the population of mountain trolls.

"How have you been?" Nico asked Elsa, getting a good look at her.

"I'm fine." Elsa assured him. "I've just missed you and your company. Kristoff isn't the best company for me." She confessed. "I'm too… Introverted and serious. We get along, and are civil, but I just can't connect to him the way I can connect with you. The trolls have been nothing but kind and welcoming to me, though you and I already have such a great friendship; it's hard for me to start over something like that."

"I missed you too." Nico smiled faintly.

"How have things been going with you?" Elsa asked, looking for any signs of injury on him.

"I've mostly been in the Underworld." Nico reported. "I'm worried about a friend of mine. Percy… He… There's a prophecy about him… If he doesn't do as I ask, he might end up dying." Nico sighed. Elsa placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why are you so worried about him? You said that the people you know don't really matter. I've never heard you talk about a friend in this way. Like you're worried about them." Elsa analyzed. "Nico, is there something I should know?" Nico yanked himself away from her. Elsa gasped, and stepped back a few paces.

"No!" He snapped, getting defensive, and hunching his shoulders over. Elsa flinched, and bowed her head. The ground froze underneath her feet.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. She wrapped her arms around herself, and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting Nico to see her cry.

"Oh gods." Nico muttered, seeing Elsa's reaction, and the ice; knowing that fear triggered her powers. "I-I'm so sorry Elsa." Elsa shook her head, feeling the tears stinging her eyes.

"N-no. _I'm _sorry." Elsa whispered. "I-I shouldn't have-"

"No!" Nico exclaimed, stepping forward and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just… It's really hard to explain." Elsa looked into his eyes. Nico saw the tears in her eyes and awkwardly hugged her. "I didn't mean… I'm so sorry."

"It-It's fine." Elsa murmured, and hugged back. They released each other after a minute.

"I forgot when I dropped you off, but I have something for you." Nico announced, breaking the silence. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Stygian ice dagger. Elsa gasped in a good way.

"You got this back! I thought it was left in my room!" Elsa breathed as he handed it to her. She cradled it in her palms.

"I picked it up when you were packing." Nico explained. "It was partially under your bed, so it wasn't really in plain sight." Elsa nodded, smiling. She removed a glove and created a sheath for the dagger, and lined it with frost again. She pulled her glove back on, and tucked the dagger in her pocket.

"Thank you so much." Elsa's face shifted into a grin. She embraced him again, albeit briefly. She stepped back. "Want to walk up the mountain some? I do that when I need to calm down, or get away from people in general." She offered. Nico thought for a moment.

"Sure."

There was something he needed to tell her.

And he wanted to be alone when he told her.


	14. Chapter 14

Nico followed Elsa as she climbed the North Mountain. They had let the trolls know that they were going, as to keep them from worrying. They climbed in silence; Elsa looking ahead of them. Nico wished he could see her face, and see her expression. They reached a cliff, after walking around a wall of stone.

"This is as far as we can go. It's just a chasm, with the real mountain up there." Elsa explained, sitting on the edge, and dangling her feet over the abyss below. She was pointing at the top of the giant mountain that loomed above them like a sleeping giant. The air was cooler up there. Her cloak was spread out like a fan behind her, due to the breeze. Elsa was swinging her legs like a child. Nico sat beside her. He was close enough to grab her if she fell. "I come here a lot." Elsa said softly. "There are a lot of rocks up here, so when I'm angry or annoyed, I throw them down the abyss to vent. Some people wonder how the rocks get there. When people come, I hide. I just listen to their voices. It's entertaining to hear their theories on how all of the rocks got down there. They're afraid to come up here. There are a lot of horror stories about this place." Elsa smiled down at the ground below them. Nico could see tiny grey pin pricks on the green grass that carpeted the ground below them. There was a small ribbon of brown; a footpath, Nico suspected.

Elsa was still wearing her gloves, as her hands cupped the ledge where they sat. Nico's own arms were crossed over his chest. She was looking around where they sat with a faint smile. She looked comfortable, and almost happy. The amount of rocks that peppered the bottom contradicted the look on Elsa's face. Nico began to wonder if she had more positive or negative thoughts and emotions associated with that place. The rocks that littered the base of the cliffs suggested negative, while the look on Elsa's face and her body language indicated positive. Could it be a mixture of both? But Elsa herself had said that she threw rocks when she was angry or annoyed.

He did worry about her, though he knew that she was probably better off than he was, in the category of safety. The trolls' home was secluded, plus Elsa could defend herself with two things now. The dagger and her powers. If all else failed, she could run or hide. Elsa was smart. She would come up with a plan, if she needed. Nico was sure.

Elsa looked up at the mountain in front of her. It towered over her forebodingly, but she couldn't help but look up at it and wish that she could climb it and conquer it. She wanted to see what her powers could do.

But she couldn't.

As a child, it had been drilled into her not to do it.

With Khione, things had been different. Elsa had _needed _to use her powers and show off. She'd needed to distract Khione, and show that she was strong, and not afraid.

But deep down inside… She was. Elsa was terrified of using her powers. She only used them when she absolutely had to. She found that it was easier to act like she was not afraid to use them, and that she would, because it was easier to make a bluff.

There was something that was bothering her, besides her powers. It was a prophecy the trolls had. She didn't know how they had made it, or acquired it though. She only knew a small fragment of it, because she'd only had a moment to translate the ancient runes. The trolls were trying to hide it from her, and looked at her sadly when they seemed to come back from studying it.

From what she could tell, it was about her powers, and the only lines she knew were, "_Three will climb the mountain to seek her",_ "_But there is still a lesson she must yet learn", _and _"And though it mustn't be retrieved, true love will be lost." _

They were in order, but Elsa knew that there was a lot more to the prophecy. Ever since she heard the line about the mountain, Elsa looked up at the Northern Mountain, wondering if that was the mountain in the prophecy. And the lesson… The trolls were trying to teach her how to use love. She wasn't able to yet use true love, because she hadn't even mastered plain love. She was able to use it, but just barely. She was much calmer with the trolls, which was probably why she was so 'in control' of her powers. If she was honest, Elsa didn't think she really had advanced very far with controlling her powers. She merely didn't need to control them as badly as she had when she still lived in Arendelle castle.

The true love thing… She was confused and worried about that.

Elsa wondered who the true love would be that was going to be lost. From what she knew about true love, Elsa knew that it could either be a platonic or romantic true love. And if it couldn't be retrieved… That really worried her.

Nico and Anna were the only ones she held true love for. And the love she held for both was platonic. She didn't want to lose either of them.

Frankly, Elsa was extremely curious as to who the three would be that would end up climbing the mountain, if she was the one they were seeking out. She assumed she was. It seemed that the trolls were doing their best to make sure she didn't freeze everything, which the prophecy was supposedly about. Nico would likely climb the mountain for her, and be one of the three.

Elsa didn't know Kristoff well enough for her to be able to know for sure, but he seemed like the type to at least assist those in climbing the mountain, if asked for help, or he came into contact with them. After all, Elsa and Kristoff really didn't do anything but co-exist. Peacefully, that is. They didn't really interact, to be honest. Maybe an overly formal greeting, such as;

Kristoff: "Princess Elsa." (Bowing)

Elsa: "Kristoff." (Curtsying and bowing her head.)

They were nothing like Nico and Elsa. Never in a million years would they be. Her wildest dreamings could not foresee her ever having true love—or any kind of love at all—platonic or romantic, for Kristoff.

Nico… He was different. Despite Elsa _loving _him, she wasn't _in _love with him. Definitely not. He'd helped her through so much, and they'd been through so much together that

"Elsa, should we head back?" Nico said, interrupting her inner musings. He had laid a hand on her shoulder gently. Ordinarily, with anyone else, she would have snapped out of it when they had touched her. Elsa didn't like to be touched. But Nico didn't fit into that category. He was in a category all his own.

Elsa had noticed that the sun had moved from where she had last seen its position.

"Can you stay a little longer?" She found herself asking. Nico mustered a smile.

"Of course. Do you want to talk about anything?" He replied gently.

"I'm worried." Elsa sighed. She hung her head, and closed her eyes. "There's a prophecy, and I'm pretty sure it's about me."

"What does the prophecy say?" Nico inquired. Elsa lifted her head and opened her eyes.

"I only know a few lines of it." Elsa explained, sounding defeated. "The trolls don't know that I know, and they keep pushing me to work on opening my heart." She was getting emotional. Tears began to threaten to form in Elsa's eyes. "But I can't!" Elsa's voice climbed an octave. Her voice became shrill. "My heart is _frozen._ I cannot open my heart. It's closed off, and the only love that can ever penetrate the wall of ice surrounding it is the love from a person whom I shall have love at first sight with. I'm not ready for that! I'm not old enough!" Tears began to spill down her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip, and then went on. "I just can't stand it. The only thing I know is 'conceal don't feel', and I've been using it for four years. It's so hard to stop now. I just want to give up sometimes. Gloves are the only thing I can use now that I know work for sure. The trolls are trying, but this is so hard for me!" Elsa began sobbing; her face buried in her hands.

Part of her felt ashamed that Nico was seeing her fall apart like this. (She would be ashamed if _anyone _saw her sobbing like that, to be honest.) The other part of her didn't care, and felt relieved to be able to let out her emotions after bottling them up. She was letting them out in a way that wasn't using her powers, which was good.

Elsa felt arms around her, pulling her close to the person they were attached to. She looked up, and saw that Nico was hugging her. She wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face into his shoulder. For once, she could just let go and be free from the image of composition and sophistication that she had trapped herself in.

"It's going to be okay." Nico whispered. He kissed the top of her head. "We can get through this together."

Elsa felt more tears come to her eyes.

Tears of relief.

* * *

**A/N: Did anyone catch the Wicked reference?**

**Anyway, this is the important thing: This is MY story, and I write it for MY enjoyment. If you have a sense of entitlement for the story to go a certain way, or a certain expectation, SNAP OUT OF IT. I am writing this story for MYSELF mainly. I am SHARING it with you guys. NONE of you have any right to tell me what I should or shouldn't do with this story, UNLESS I ASK FOR IT. Just because you want it to go a certain way doesn't mean that I want it to go that way. A lot of you want this story to contain romance. Guess what? It WON'T. Happy? I've had to give you guys minor spoilers ALL THROUGHOUT THE STORY just because you guys keep asking me if a certain pairing is going to be in the story. This story is about PLATONIC love. The hypothetical sequel is the one you'll have to wait for if you want romance. If it does become a reality, the sequel will be MUCH more mature than this one. Okay, that's the end of my rant.**


	15. Chapter 15

Elsa felt so calm and relaxed, there on that cliff. She and Nico were holding each other. It was comforting. His head was resting on top of hers, which was resting on his shoulder. And she didn't mind one bit. She felt safer with her best friend on a cliff where the shift of weight the wrong direction could seriously injure or kill both or one of them, than if she was with the trolls. It wasn't anything personal though

Elsa knew that the trolls meant well; it would take a lot to melt the ice stuck in her heart, and she needed to control her powers before she left the area. Right there and then, she needed to be with the brother she'd never had. She had a special connection with him, and it could not be replicated with anybody else.

"I think I need to tell you something." Nico confessed.

"What is it?" Elsa asked softly, as if she was reluctant to disturb the still and quiet of their solitude.

"I have a crush on someone." Nico sighed just as quietly, looking down into the chasm where their feet dangled. He lifted his head. Elsa lifted hers too.

"Who is she?" Elsa inquired; her voice barely a whisper. She turned to face him. Nico didn't look at her; as if he were too ashamed to tell her the very thing that was on his mind.

"It-it's not a girl. It's a boy." Nico blurted out. He hung his head. Elsa didn't release him, though he released her.

"Who is he?" Elsa moved a hand to his shoulder. "Nico; I'm not going to judge you."

"I told you about Percy Jackson, right? Well, it's him." Nico admitted. He looked deflated, as if this confession had taken all of his energy away. "I should hate him… but I can't. I'm sorry if I made you hate me for this."

Elsa allowed herself a moment to think. Nico had a crush on another boy. Percy, to be exact. From the way Nico talked about Percy, Elsa wasn't exactly surprised. The way Nico talked about Percy… it was as if he was a god or someone especially amazing.

But Elsa had been raised Roman-Catholic.

But adultery, which was the reason Elsa even existed, was put under the same category as homosexuality.

Elsa thought about what the trolls had said to her when she first arrived.

_"Love comes in all shapes, sizes, packages, and types. The same goes for true love. True love can be platonic or romantic. Love is love, no matter what kind of love it is, no matter who it's between."_

Elsa remembered how Nico had gone completely silent and unresponsive after that had been said.

Could it possibly be that the trolls had been referring to Nico's love?

The trolls had more knowledge about love and true love than Elsa would ever know. If they believed that love is love no matter who it's between, she believed it too.

"Nico, I don't hate you." Elsa assured him softly. "Remember what the trolls said when we first arrived? They said that any kind of love comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes and packages. They also said love is love, no matter what kind of love it is, no matter who it's with. Because I am not an expert on love, and they are, I choose to listen to them. They are old and wise. Please understand that I admire you for being able to love someone in that, while I cannot. You have romantic love in your heart, as well as platonic. My heart only contains platonic love."

Nico looked up and finally met her eyes. He was greeted by her ice blue eyes looking soft and gentle, which was a rarity. Elsa could see the fear and shame in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him; pulling him closer.

"Thank you for accepting me." Nico whispered.

"Even if I didn't, I wouldn't hate you." Elsa informed him. "We're basically a family now. That means we are there for each other, no matter what." Nico smiled, and wrapped an arm around her.

Nico was relieved to have Elsa's support. He remembered something Bianca used to say. 'Family means nobody gets left behind, abandoned, or forgotten.'

"I love you, Elsa. My _sorella._" Nico muttered. Elsa smiled.

"I love you too, Nico. My _fratello._" Elsa whispered back.

Sorella meant sister.

Fratello meant brother.

Both words were Italian.

Elsa and Nico decided to stay the night there, by the cliff. Nico had a sword and his powers, Elsa had her dagger and her powers, so they decided that they should be fine in case someone or something attacked. Neither of them would be particularly bothered by the cold. Elsa barely felt it, and Nico had his aviator's jacket. They wanted to stay in solitude together as long as they could.

The two of them lay side by side; holding hands. Neither of them wanted to let go of the person who understood them. They didn't want to let go. Both had lost a sister in the way that they could no longer talk to her or see her face. Much less hold her hand or hug her.

So they were perfectly fine with being touchy with each other. Elsa, for the first time in around five years, felt affection. Nico felt affection for the first time months.

It was strange. They immediately flinched away from being touched, even tapped on the shoulder, by anybody else, but if the other hugged them, they hugged back. Trust. One thing that they were both relearning.

"See that constellation?" Nico asked Elsa in almost a whisper. He was pointing to the sky above; dotted with stars. Nico felt lucky to see so many stars. Anywhere else, he couldn't see nearly that many due to the light pollution.

"The one that looks like a girl running with a bow?" Elsa inquired in the same volume.

"Yeah. There's more to that story. I like to think that there's another girl running with her; you just can't see her." Nico murmured. "Both of them died on the same quest. My sister died before the girl in the stars did. The girl in the stars… her name was Zoe. Zoe Nightshade. There's more to the story than just the one girl running in the stars." Elsa squeezed his hand. Her platinum blonde hair looked almost silver in the night. Her skin looked pearly white. Nico could blend right with the dark in if he did it right. He looked at the girl he considered his sister. She was beautiful. On the inside and outside. He swore to himself (not on the River Styx) that if someone tried to hurt her, he would hunt that person or monster down and make them pay.

"Anna loved to look at the stars." Elsa breathed. "And when the sky would fill with color, she would say that the sky's awake."

"You've seen the northern lights?" Nico gasped.

"I guess; yes, if that's what they're called. I see them all of the time." Elsa shrugged.

"How many times, do you think?" Nico asked her, amazed at the prospect of seeing the northern lights so many times in one's lifetime.

"I've lost count." Elsa confessed. "I saw them last that night when Khione attacked us."

"Lucky. Where I'm from, some people only see them once in their lives, and some don't see them at all." Nico breathed. Elsa smiled. She gasped softly, after averting her eyes to the mountain looming above them.

"Nico!" Elsa whispered. "Look!" She pointed at the Northern Mountain, where the colors were showing themselves. Nico gasped, and watched; entranced with the colored lights dancing in the sky. The two friends lay there; watching the greens and blues and magentas waltz with each other.

"Wow," Nico muttered after the lights finally disappeared. "Thank you for showing them to me." Elsa chuckled softly.

"Don't thank me. Thank the gods." She whispered. "After all, they are the reason you and I are who we are, and the reason we have met." They simultaneously turned their heads, so that they were looking at each other.

Nico noticed how, now that Elsa had let her guard down, her eyes were soft, gentle, and that he could see past her eyes, and see what she was feeling. Like the ice had melted, so to speak.

Elsa experienced the same thing with Nico's eyes, though she had learned to look past the wall he had built up. It was just something she had learned as she got to know him and see who he truly was.

The two of them fell asleep holding onto each other. Elsa took off her cape, and draped it over the two of them. They held hands while asleep; tightly, as not to let the other get taken away.

Khione plagued both of their dreams; taking the other away.

Elsa dreamed that she was on a mountain of snow which she had created, and Nico was killed by Khione.

Nico imagined he was leading Elsa through the Underworld. They were both running. Khione grabbed Elsa, and tore her from him.

Their grip on each other tightened.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, next chapter will be really emotional. Not that this one wasn't emotional, though. Coming out is an extremely personal and intimate experience. My coming out to my brother was actually really casual. We were talking about a character who is a lesbian, and I was like, 'You know who else likes girls? Me.' And that was that. It was a little more personal with my parents, but they, being the awesome and supportive people that they are, had great reactions.**

**I had BETTER NOT see anybody whining about how this should be a NicoXElsa fic after this chapter. First of all, Nico came out as gay. Second, they refer to each other as 'brother' and 'sister' and called each other family. This is PLATONIC love. They are FRIENDS.**

**Anyway, the Wicked reference was just part of a line of the song As Long As You're Mine.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So... there's something I would like to talk about. There was this guest reviewer whose reveiws made me VERY uncomfortable. This person threw a tantrum because this fic wouldn't contain PercyXElsa. This person stopped reading this fic. And I'm okay with that. I don't miss this person. If you don't like the fic, stop reading. Just don't leave hate reviews. Don't tell me what to do either. This fic only follows the path one person wants it to go, and that person is me. Okay? Thanks.**

**WARNING: This chapter will be very emotional. It was very emotional for me to write. Just letting you guys know.**

* * *

Nico couldn't stand it anymore. The nightmares…

Khione taking Elsa, and disappearing with her in a flurry of snow before Nico could yell her name… Even dragging her out of Nico's arms when he tried to save her from the inevitable. Elsa screaming, kicking, and desperately trying to get away… That would haunt him forever. He couldn't bear the nightmares anymore.

The most recent dream was fresh in his mind, and he could recall it perfectly.

* * *

_They were being chased through the Underworld. Nico was holding onto Elsa's hand. She was holding tightly as he led her to the palace that was so close, yet so far. They were being chased. Elsa was holding __**her **__off. She had thrown her gloves in the River Styx when they had crossed it via bridge of ice, which she had created right after she pulled them off. _

_ "It's a dream I've given up. Being normal, that is. I'm not. I can't pretend that I am." Elsa had said breathlessly as they ran across the ice. It was becoming more solid as her feet touched it, despite her wearing shoes and stockings. "I can't go through life hiding a part of me anymore. I've got to learn how to live with it, and be comfortable with myself." _

_ She was now defending the both of them, and had created a sword made of ice, and a lot of sharp icicles that she had hurtled at the goddess following them. She'd fired blasts of her powers into the air. The Underworld was quickly becoming cold as well as already being dark and gloomy due to the mess of ice and snow left by Elsa and the goddess._

_ "Come on!" Nico urged as they sprinted. He was out of breath, and so was Elsa. She had lost her sword to an iceberg large enough to sink the Titanic that engulfed the blade when she had tried to swing it at __**her**__. _

_ Then, the worst happened. The two of them slipped and fell on a patch of ice that hadn't been there a second ago. Both of them had let go of the other to try and break the fall with their hands. Elsa hissed with pain. Nico knelt next to her, and wrapped an arm around her to urge the blonde girl up, and to get running again. Elsa stood, with his help. She helped him make their way across the ice carefully and safely. Sadly, that took up too much time, so __**she **__caught up with them._

_ Nico wrapped his arms around Elsa; protecting her. This was his realm. He could protect her, he hoped. _

_ "I won't let you go. I won't let her take you. I swear on the River Styx." Nico whispered in her ear. The platinum blonde girl wrapped her arms around him tighter, and buried her face in his shoulder._

_ "Nice try." And just like that, Khione dragged Elsa away from Nico. It seemed to happen in slow motion. She was kicking and screaming, but she was suddenly gone before Nico could yell her name._

_ Gone… Elsa was gone… And Nico hadn't been able to do anything about it. Not even in his own realm, where he was the most powerful. _

_ The son of Hades fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks._

_ "Elsa…" Nico croaked out hoarsely, bowing his head in devastation. "I'm sorry."_

* * *

He awoke and sat up, wanting to not go back into that territory. Elsa lay on the ground; still asleep, her facial expression unreadable. Nico detached his hand from hers without waking the sleeping princess. Her gloved hands were cold, and stiff. Like they were full of ice and snow.

It took him a few minutes to calm down. Elsa was okay. She was right there. She was just sleeping. She was alive. He wouldn't lose her the way he lost Bianca. He wouldn't let her go. He would bring her back. He'd find a way. He would.

If Khione even dared to try to touch a hair on Elsa's head…

He felt himself losing control. He needed to do something to calm down. Something to give him something to focus on…

He heard Elsa's stomach growl, though the princess didn't stir. Bingo.

Nico felt guilty for just leaving, but he had to get some food for Elsa. She was bound to be hungry when she woke up. He replaced her cape with his jacket, and put the cape on. He'd fit in better wearing the cape. It had a hood too, so he could keep from being looked in the face. Or at least avoid being recognized if he came back.

The cloak had a pocket of coins. They were still strange and old fashioned to him, though he knew them to be Arendelle's currency. Nico understood the currency; thanks to Elsa. In return, he taught her about American money and drachmas.

Nico noticed that on the lowest and second lowest value coins, Elsa and Anna were pictured on one side of the coin. Anna was on the lowest value coin. Soon, Elsa wouldn't be on any coin. She would be erased from Arendelle's history as if she'd never existed, all because she was finding her true self.

He glanced at her sleeping form. She looked troubled, even in her sleep. But there were dark circles under her eyes, and he figured that she needed all of the sleep that she could get. Dark circles were not something Nico would wish upon anybody. Especially Elsa. They meant that the person with them had been suffering from lack of sleep, and in this case, knowing Elsa, meant that she either couldn't sleep due to worries about her powers, or due to nightmares. Or both.

Nico melted into the shadows; throwing a glance back at her as he disappeared.

* * *

_Elsa stood on the top of the North Mountain. A blizzard raged around the top of the mountain, making it extremely difficult to see anything below or above her. Nico had his sword drawn, ready to fight. Elsa was poised to attack. Her dress was covered in frost and tiny ice fragments, her hair was in a messy braid, and she was standing ankle deep in snow. She heard cruel laughing. Khione._

_ Nico caught Elsa's eye. He nodded once. Elsa nodded, and gulped. She fired blasts of her powers; praying that she would hit the goddess, or at least help defend the two of them. The blizzard grew stronger and thicker. It was even harder to see. She was forced to squint, and pray that she would see Khione coming. She kept trying to defend herself and Nico, but, as it seemed, to no avail. _

_ "Khione!" She shouted, trying to be heard over the howling wind. The snow flying around stung her face. "Show yourself! Don't be a coward and hide! Fight me like a real goddess would!" She tried. Elsa prayed dearly that it would work. Nothing would be accomplished from her just standing there, blasting her powers at nothing. She had to fight her mother face to face._

_ "A goddess doesn't follow the orders of a mortal girl." Elsa shivered as she felt a whisper—colder than she'd ever felt, and that was saying a lot—against her ear. It sent chills down her spine, raising goose bumps on her arms and legs; a foreign feeling to her. She swallowed._

_ "What, are you too much of a coward?" She tried again; still trying to taunt the goddess. Elsa scoffed. The more she got into what she was saying, the more she felt confident and felt that she was successful in selling what she was saying._

_ "Nice try." _

_ Suddenly, Nico let out a cry of pain, and fell to his knees, and then forward, so that he was lying face down in the snow. He lay; his arms eagle-spread. He was still holding onto his sword. He moaned; long and loud as soon as he fell forward. He sounded like he was in great pain._

_ "Nico!" Elsa screamed, as she was kneeling at his side in an instant. She didn't realize that the blizzard and wind had stopped. Everything was still. Frozen. She noticed something poking out of his back. She could feel it through his jacket. She ignored it though, and rolled her only friend onto his back. What she saw drew a cry of devastation from her. An icicle, thrown with dead accuracy, had found its way into the middle of Nico's stomach. It had been pushed into him further by him falling on his stomach, and it went completely through him; it had been poking out of his back. Nico's shirt was drenched and sticky with blood. The snow where he had been lying face down was crimson. _

_ There was sweat on his face, and it was paler than Elsa had ever seen someone's face—it was whiter than the snow around them._

_ Nothing—not even ambrosia and nectar—and nobody—not even the gods—could save him. Both of them knew this. But Elsa didn't want to admit this to herself._

_ The princess's mouth was wide open, as tears stung her eyes and trailed their way down her cheeks in a fast stream. _

_ Nico was struggling to breathe. His lips were moving. Elsa brought her ear down near them so that she could hear what he was saying. She could feel herself trembling. _

_ "All… My fault." Nico managed. "I… Love you, El—_" _He never finished what he was saying. Elsa let out a cry of despair and devastation, and her shoulders dropped; her head bowed. She practically collapsed over him._

_ "Nico…" Elsa sobbed over his dead body. Her lips trembled as she took shaky breaths. The only sound to be heard was her breathing. She buried her face into his shoulder for the last time. "I'm sorry."_

* * *

Elsa woke with a start. She was shaking; her breaths as shaky as her body. There were tears in her eyes. She sat up. The tears slipped down her cheeks as Nico's jacket down to her lap. She noticed the jacket, and was instantaneously standing with it in her hand; wildly looking around for Nico.

He was nowhere to be found. Elsa gasped, and began breathing rapidly. The grass around her froze.

"Nico!" Elsa cried out; her voice shrill. She began to gasp for air. She turned every which way; still unable to find her best friend/brother. The grass next to here where he had been lying that night was still mostly flat. A cloud of snow—a small storm—appeared overhead. Ice formed over the ice.

Madness took over in her mind. She was back in her dream. She grew numb. Her hands trembled; as did her lips.

She was nearly at her breaking point… The dream was too real. Elsa slowly but purposefully made her way over to the cliff that lead to the north mountain. Her body's temperature was ordinarily colder than everybody else's, but then it turned even colder.

"Nico," Elsa whispered. "Don't go." She choked out a sob. "Don't leave me alone in this world." She was standing at the edge of the cliff by the time she finished saying that. The small blizzard she had created was as still as a statue.

The dream had taken over her mind; becoming reality to her.

"Elsa!" The princess whipped around as she heard her name. Several meters behind her was a figure clad in all black.

"Nico!" She sprinted at him; tears running down her cheeks. She stopped about half a meter from him. He took the hood off; revealing that he was crying too. Nico closed in on the hug. Both held the other tightly as possible; crying with relief that the other was indeed alright, and never wanting to let go.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so this is an emotional chapter because it shows how much they care about each other. For Elsa, who is losing everything, it became too much. She lost her sister, family, home, and the future planned for her, and all she has is Nico. Nico has lost so much too. I really want you guys to notice their different reactions, and their worst nightmares. It's okay if this chapter doesn't make you cry, but it wasn't meant to be a happy one.**


	17. Chapter 17

Elsa couldn't sleep. She was so tired from lack of sleep. The dark circles under her eyes were darker than she'd ever seen them. She had little energy. It wasn't that she couldn't fall asleep; she could—easily. Her lack of sleep was her own doing. The nightmares—not to different from the one where Nico was killed—plagued her. The only way to avoid them was to not sleep. The dreams made her cave full of ice and snow. When she awoke, everything was still. It was just frozen. The trolls explained that fear made her lose control of her powers, and love helped her to gain control of them. They said that when she was trapped in the nightmares, she was afraid. But at the end of the dreams, she was halfway between love and fear, so the powers stopped growing, but she also couldn't control them.

When she awoke, she was crying, and screaming. Elsa would grip the blankets tightly; telling herself that it was just a dream; that what she had just seen was only a dream, and that it wasn't real. She had a hard time believing herself though.

Nico's visits had stopped, due to him being needed in the Titan war. Not by his own choice. This only increased Elsa's worries. She prayed to the gods whenever she could, asking that they would protect the boy she considered her brother, and whom she loved more than anyone. Even Anna.

She dreamed what seemed like all of the scenarios possible for Khione to kill, kidnap, or hurt Nico. In all of them, Elsa couldn't do anything about it. She only slept a short time, and she only slept when she absolutely couldn't stand it anymore because she needed to sleep so badly.

The trolls did all they could to help her, but their potions and magic could not do anything to stop the dreams. They knew, but didn't tell her, that if the dreams went on for much longer, Elsa would surely break. She would be pushed beyond the brink of insanity if the nightmares lasted for much longer. She was only thirteen. She had been so strong. But even the strongest people have their breaking points.

And then, for a week; a beautiful, glorious, peaceful week, the nightmares stopped. Elsa slept a lot; she was catching up from all of the sleep she had lost, she was able to control her powers somewhat, and she was much more relaxed. To her and the trolls, it was the calm after the storm.

She got better. She didn't dream. It was refreshing. She was given potions to drink. The potions strengthened her so that she was no longer dangerously teetering towards insanity. She was stable. She was no longer near the brink of madness.

But that was merely the calm before the storm.

The worst was still yet to come.

On the eighth peaceful day, Elsa had her gloves off, and she was trying to use her powers in a controlled manner. She was slowly beginning to see the beauty in her powers. It was a small spark of fondness at first. It was better than nothing, at least.

Then, it happened.

Elsa did something she remembered from when she was younger. She created a glowing orb of her powers between her hands; ready to launch it into the air and let snow rain down.

Suddenly, the orb stopped glowing gently, and started shining a harsh, blinding light. Elsa instinctively clenched her eyes shut with a small scream. The orb became restless, and churning. She tried to yank her hands away, and hide her eyes, but the orb followed her hands; passing into her head, and staying there.

Elsa collapsed to the ground in a heap of dark blue and black cloth; her ice blue eyes rolling into her head. Her hair turned a shade lighter. She lay there; unconscious. Frost spread across her skin, clothes, and hair. The ground beneath her turned to ice.

To Kristoff, who was passing by when he saw her lying on the ground, she looked like she was dead. He scrambled over to see if she really was dead. He found her pulse, but she wasn't moving. He shook her; trying to wake her up.

So he yelled for help. The trolls made it over there faster than Kristoff had ever seen them move.

Grand Pabbie took one look at Elsa, and sighed; his shoulders slumping.

"Her head is frozen. Not by her own powers, but by her mother taking over and doing this to her. With her frozen heart, Elsa may be stuck in a coma for a while. Only an act of true love will awaken her." He informed the others. "Elsa cannot be woken up by me or anybody else. It would not work. She will not die; as we have potions to help her, but there is little else we can do."

Elsa was in a cold and dark place. She could see her breath, but that was about all she could see. She lifted her hand up to see if she could see it. She could. Elsa's skin was so pale and white… It almost glowed in the dark. She turned; looking around. She couldn't help but realize that her hand and wrist was the only part of her arm that she could see. Elsa felt for a dress. When she felt it, it was cold. Even to her touch. Her dress was composed of the cold and dark. She felt her hair. It was in a bun; like her mother's. And there was a crown. An extremely cold crown. Like it was made of ice.

"Where am I?" She whispered, feeling around for an exit. Elsa had her arms around, stumbling around in the dark. She hit a round wall, and felt it, and began banging her fists against it. "Help! Let me out! Where am I?!" She screamed. Elsa took her anger out on the wall. Her breaths were ragged as she began to cry, throwing her body against the wall, and sliding down to the ground. She pressed a hand against the wall, and leaned her head against it; sobbing. "Help. Somebody… Anybody… Please… Help me." Elsa whispered hopelessly, looking up to the darkness up above; tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't know where I am."

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**A/N: Yeah... Kind of an emotional plot twist... I TOTALLY ripped the last bit off Doctor Who, in a way.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I feel soooooo evil after that last chapter's cliffhanger. Okay, we need an act of true love to wake Elsa up. Any guesses as to who will commit the act of true love to wake her up? ALSO: If you want a good song to listen to while reading this, I'm Not Your Hero by Tegan and Sara or Soil, Soil by Tegan and Sara. I'm Not Your Hero is better if you want to get less of a sad and emotional vibe. Soil, Soil gives you a sadder and more desperate mood. But whatever you like.**

* * *

Elsa lay on her bed inside the cave that was her room. A quilt covered her from the waist down. She was still. Her hair, for once, was not in a braid or bun. It had been combed, and lovingly placed over her shoulders. Her head was gently resting on a pillow. She looked upset though. There was an anxious frown on her face, and a tear rested in the corner of her left eye. Nothing could wake her up. Of course she couldn't; her consciousness wasn't there.

Elsa's consciousness was far, far away from her body. In her consciousness, she was curled up at the wall of wherever she was. She had finished crying and hitting the wall. She had no fight, motivation, or energy left to do either.

It was still and quiet. The only sounds to be heard came from Elsa herself. The sounds came from her sniffing, as one does after finishing crying, and her breathing.

"I don't know where I am. Where am I?" Elsa breathed against the wall. To her, it was the final act. Her laying out all of her cards after finishing a losing game of cards. Her accepting checkmate at the end of a chess game. Her handing her sword to the other highest ranking after losing a battle. Her resting her neck on the guillotine.

"Where the cold of the Earth and the dark of the Underworld meet, your majesty. A place between dreams and reality. It is also where life and death might meet and battle." A soft and gentle voice said. Elsa's head snapped up.

"I… I am not a queen." Elsa confessed. "I may still be a princess, but that is unlikely, and I will never be a queen." She looked hopelessly into the darkness surrounding her. At least she wasn't alone.

"Hmm… So, you are not the Crown Princess Elsa of Arendelle? You are not Queen of the Ice and Snow?" The voice asked. It sounded as if the person (whose voice sounded very feminine) whom Elsa was speaking to was smiling when they said that.

"I am Elsa, but I don't know if I am still considered a princess, much less heir to the throne, by my people." Elsa confessed. "And it was only in a moment of cockiness that I declared myself queen of ice and snow. I am not the Snow Queen. I am just a girl. A girl who has left a perfectly good life behind her for a life that will probably not be nearly as good as my old one."

"Elsa, you are selling yourself short." The voice said sadly. "You have been strong. Now, you must be even stronger."

"W-What?!" Elsa exclaimed. "What do you mean, 'I must be even stronger'?!"

"Khione froze your head." The voice sighed. "It was worse than it would have been, had your heart not been frozen. Your body is lying comatose. The trolls tried everything, but nothing could awaken you. Either Khione must lift it, or an immense amount of true love must melt the ice. Those are the only ways. Well… There is a third option…" The voice sounded uneasy about the third option.

"Dare I ask what the third option is?" Elsa asked; her voice shaky.

"Death," The voice said simply. The princess swallowed and nodded; her eyes wide.

"Who are you?" Elsa asked. "Why are you talking to me, and telling me all of this? Why isn't Khione torturing me, since she hates me so much?" The voice chuckled sadly.

"I was afraid that you would ask who I am… I might as well tell you." The voice sighed. "When I was alive, I was Bianca di Angelo. Daughter of Hades. You know my brother very well; Nico."

"B-Bianca?!" Elsa gasped. "Can I, at least, see you?

"Yes." Suddenly, a translucent form appeared. It was a girl who looked no older than Elsa herself was. This girl had olive skin and dark hair that was pulled back into a braid. There were a few freckles across her nose. She had dark eyes, and was looking at Elsa sadly. Bianca wore silver clothing, and she had a silver aura around her that wasn't just from being a ghost.

"You… Don't look much like your brother." Elsa said, standing. She stepped forward, and reached a hand out to Bianca. The ghost reached her hand out to her too. It was hard for Elsa to grasp. It was like trying to grab water. She tried again, and she found it a little easier, but not much. Bianca gasped, and looked at Elsa; worried. Bianca got harder to see through.

"Oh no…" The dark haired girl yanked her hand back. "Elsa, you've got to hold onto the land of the living. Think of my brother, your sister, and anything and everything you love about life."

"What? Why?" Elsa stammered.

"Elsa, the more solid I become, it means you're dying." Bianca explained. "You mustn't let go. If you can stay stable right now, you will likely be alright for a while. This is what I mean when I tell you to stay strong. Khione is going to try to wear you down, and let you beg for death, and eventually die. I don't think she's planning to ever let you wake up from this coma. That means that your only hope is Nico. He can provide you with true love, and melt the ice. Had you accidentally given yourself a frozen head, the trolls would have been able to fix it, but Khione has cast it so that the only weakness this coma has is true love. Nico is the only one who can bring you out of this. And he will, as long as you can hold on and stay alive until he can come to get you."

"How do you know all of this?" Elsa whispered.

"This is technically part of the Underworld. Other spirits have seen her scout out this place, and heard her muttering her intentions." Bianca said calmly. "It was very easy for me to get in here. I protected you from the dark with what you're wearing. Khione tried to wear you down with the cold and the dark. Now, this next part is very, very important." Bianca moved closer to Elsa. "Khione will send you visions and nightmares. I cannot do anything to stop them. But you must stay strong, and remember that none of it is real." Bianca's voice grew more firm as she said this. "I believe in you." With that, Bianca disappeared. Elsa sank to her knees.

"Don't go." She whispered pathetically. "Bianca…" She might have been pleading for Bianca to come back, but what she really wanted was to see Nico again. She would have been fine with just seeing a glance of him to make sure that he was okay. She just wanted the comfort of seeing something or someone so familiar in this foreign setting. Everything was new to her. Everything.

Elsa took a deep breath. She stood up straight; her shoulders back. She had to be strong. She had promised Bianca that she would be.

"A queen is strong and brave." She whispered to herself, touching the tiara on her head. "I am the Snow Queen." She began to pace; her posture perfect. "Remember love. Let the love take over. Open your heart for love. Let new love flow in, and let the old fill you." She was reciting things she had learned from the trolls. "Fear is your enemy." She told herself.

Elsa concentrated, coaxing the love out. She let herself remain calm.

She closed her eyes, and touched her temples gently.

_Love. Remember the love. _

She thought of the first time she and Nico met. She had been so full of fear, and hatred for herself, that she was forever changed when she met someone who was also full of fear and hatred. That was where the structure for their bond began. Over all of the times she and Nico met up and talked, a bridge between them was slowly built. A bridge of love and trust.

When Khione attacked, the cracks were filled in, and the bridge became almost unbreakable. Lately, the bridge had been so strong and indestructable.

Elsa felt calm and at peace with herself. Maybe this was what the trolls were talking about when they told her to use love. Love was such a wonderful feeling, especially platonic love; which was the only kind of love she had ever felt and experienced for herself.

Elsa decided that when she got out of this, she would search the world for love. Even if it took her all of her time on the earth.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so Khione is behind the frozen head. She was also behind the nightmares that Nico and Elsa had in previous chapters.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: A couple people, in the reviews, stated that they like how I added Bianca in. Kristoff isn't really important in this fic, (for the person who asked) so... yeah... He appeared in chapter 17, if you didn't notice. He's with the trolls. Where in the world did you get the idea that I killed him off?! Everything else: That is top secret. Only I know. ;)**

* * *

Elsa had made a grave mistake.

In her current prison, Elsa had fallen asleep. She realized that she shouldn't have when it was already too late.

She felt like she was falling fast and far in the dark. It was cold too. Colder than the cave her consciousness was inhibiting. It was darker too. She couldn't shiver, or moved. Elsa was petrified in this feeling of falling.

She kept falling until she landed on the ground; standing. She hadn't landed too hard, thank goodness. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and a body right next to her. She looked up, and exhaled. It was Nico. They were in a dark place, and the only thing she could see was a cliff behind her; a colossal black abyss. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest and ears.

She felt something yank on her ankle, and drag her back. Elsa let out a scream in surprise. Her foot was pulled out from under her, and she fell forward; reaching out for Nico; yelling his name, despite being unable to hear anything except the beat of her own heart. She felt him grab her wrists. Elsa grabbed his arms back. She went over the cliff, despite their combined efforts to prevent the inevitable. She kicked, desperately trying to find a foothold. Nico was flat on his stomach trying to keep her from falling. Both of them were holding onto each other tightly, and refusing to let go. The only sound Elsa could hear was her heart pounding. Nothing else.

She glanced up at Nico. He looked anxious and over-exerted. His lips were moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She could tell that the feeling of being terrified was mutual. Elsa felt sweat forming in her palms. Her tight grip was beginning to slide. Nico's palms were just as sweaty as her own. The two of them were losing their hold on each other, despite their efforts to never let go.

Then, Elsa felt whatever it was pulling on her leg again.

At first, it was a quick, though violent, tug, but then it began effectively dragging her out of Nico's grasp. Elsa felt tears sting in her eyes. She blinked them away, mouthing the words 'Conceal, don't feel' to herself, and then looking up at her best friend. There was panic in his eyes. Elsa sighed hopelessly and shook her head.

She didn't even flinch as she was pulled down and slipped out of Nico's grasp into the abyss below.

It was because she had realized that, in this situation, she just couldn't win. It was impossible.

Because Khione didn't want her to win. Of course the goddess wouldn't want Elsa to win. Khione hated her demigod daughter.

Elsa found herself wishing that Khione loved her. It was out of desperation, of course. If Khione had loved her, Elsa wouldn't be in this situation. She would likely be safe and sound.

The Arendellian princess exhaled. She was shocked for a second when she saw her breath come from her mouth in a visible puff. How had it gotten so cold around her so quickly?

She was on ice skates. So was Nico. He was holding onto her hand. The two were skating as quickly as they could across an unforgiving-looking lake covered in thin ice. Elsa was strengthening the ice with her powers. A cruel wind blew; stinging her cheeks and eyes. She held onto Nico's hand tightly. Her hands were numb.

Nico was falling behind Elsa due to the fact that she was a natural at skating.

"Slow down!" Nico panted.

"I can't!" Elsa exclaimed, realizing that she had no control over her skates. Or was it the ice?

Their grip on each other's hands was weakening.

_Crack. _

Just when Elsa thought that it couldn't get worse, it did. The ice was cracking under Nico's skates. She was basically speed skating across the ice with Nico in tow, and the ice was breaking underneath him. She couldn't stop or slow down. He couldn't move faster.

The daughter of Khione's jaw trembled.

"Hold on Nico!" Elsa called out. "Just hold on as long as you can!" She had to devise a plan. Something. She had to think of something in order to save Nico, and get both of them out of there. The other side of the lake wasn't coming quickly enough.

The ice began to crack and break more rapidly. Elsa chewed her bottom lip. She focused her feet on strengthening the ice, and her hand on protecting Nico from 'thin ice'. It was the best she could do, considering her current situation.

"Just let me go." Nico shouted. "I can shadow travel out of here. I promise I'll make it out."

"I couldn't possibly!" Elsa protested. "No way. I am not letting you go! Never. Not in a million years!" She turned to meet his eyes.

"You have to; otherwise neither of us is going to make it out of here. You have a fighting chance since you have your powers. You can survive this because this is part of your mother's realm. You can make it out. I only have a chance if I shadow travel. You only have a chance if you only protect yourself. I'm a waste of time and energy if I don't shadow travel out of here." Elsa listened to Nico; her face unreadable.

"Where would we meet?" Elsa asked worriedly. She remembered that she and Nico had been separated because she had let go, though it wasn't on purpose.

"On the other side of the lake." Nico promised. "On the snow, where it's safer than the ice." Elsa glanced to check that he had his sword.

"Only if you have your sword drawn before you go." Elsa began to compromise. She was reluctant, but Nico had a point. Actually, he had a few.

In response, the son of Hades drew his sword and held it ready.

"Ready?" He asked. "Just let go. That's all you have to do." Elsa bit her lip and nodded. She swallowed, and slowly released his hand. Immediately, she began going faster. She turned her head, and saw Nico disappear. She hoped that he hadn't been kidnapped or anything. She looked ahead of her, and saw a tiny black figure on the other side of the lake against the pristine white of the snow waving something black. She smiled wryly. Nico had made it. Elsa began trying to make it to the other side quickly; the wind practically cutting into her skin.

Elsa ignored it though. She had to get to Nico. She had to make sure he wasn't attacked by Khione. She held her breath as she worked to get to the other side.

The long journey to the other side took much too long for Elsa's tastes. She was anxious to get off the frozen lake and back to Nico. They were there for each other. They protected each other.

"Nico!" Elsa called as she reached the bank of snow at the edge of the lake. She stepped into the snow, not caring that she was still stuck in her ice skates. She scrambled over to find him.

When she saw his black boots sticking out from being a tree, Elsa perked up. He had probably decided to sit down while waiting. She scampered around it.

When she saw what was on the other side, she couldn't breathe. Elsa literally couldn't breathe.

Tears filled her eyes and spilled over.

Nico lay on the snow; his body sprawled out like he would never lay. Not even in his deepest sleep.

His skin was as white—or even whiter than—as the snow around him. His lips were blue. His eyes were closed. Elsa timidly stepped forward and touched his face with her hand, then retracted it quickly. He was colder than ice. So cold that touching him had almost burned her hand.

It was impossible that he was still alive.

Elsa screamed in grief. She had thought that maybe she and Nico could win this time. Their plan had been a good one. Why hadn't it worked?!

The princess collapsed to her knees hopelessly; her hands covering her face as she sobbed for Nico's death for the second time.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah... This chapter's kind of a downer.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: This is a really sad chapter. It's short, but emotional.**

* * *

Elsa awoke in a cold sweat; screaming her head off. She took a few minutes to calm down enough to stop screaming. She lay on the ground, taking ragged breaths. She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her chin on them; letting herself cry. She'd cried so much lately, that she figured that it was useless for her to try to stop herself from crying. The princess had grown up being told that she shouldn't cry; that crying was for babies. Later, crying was too much of a show of emotion, so she was basically forbidden from it.

Surprisingly, Elsa had grown to like crying, though she hated it if someone besides Nico witnessed her doing it. For her, it was finally a way for her to let out her emotions. Bottling everything up didn't work. It made things worse.

She was well aware that she could be hypocritical, but she had only just achieved the freedom to figure how to go about controlling her powers. Elsa's emotional scars were there for her to learn from. They taught her what to and what not to do.

The Arendellian princess, at the moment, only desired to be herself and be loved for who she was. She wanted to be free. But she was trapped. Elsa could not escape.

Elsa released her knees when she realized that Bianca had not come yet. She had been sitting there alone crying for a while. Based on Bianca's personality and the type of person she came across as, she would only stay away if… If Khione was still watching Elsa; ready to strike again.

The thirteen year old girl rose to her feet.

"I know you're watching me Khione." Elsa said firmly. She wiped away her tears. "And frankly, I've had enough of you. Leave me and Nico alone. We shouldn't have to deal with you. And yet we do. Go ahead; try to beat me down. But know that I am Queen of Ice and Snow, while you will never deserve the title. You may think that I am not free, but I am. You may have restricted the freedom of my body and my consciousness, but you do not have control over my emotions. You never will. You cannot control the love that is already in my heart. You've trapped it there. Just because it cannot get out or in does not mean that love cannot grow in my frozen heart. That is a very foolish mistake to make, especially for a goddess. I have survived this long with just the love you froze in my heart, so I will most likely survive my whole life with it. The love can grow, as you've said. And I will have love at first sight, so there is hope of my heart unfreezing. The same with Nico." She took a deep breath. "You've tried to make everything so horrid for me, but you only succeeded in helping me to become a stronger person. Haven't you had enough of this? You're stuck just attempting to make me give up. You will not succeed. Face it; you cannot break me. It is futile. Because you are so keen on trying to break me, it is clear that you will never succeed, and that I will remain strong. But knowing this without trying will kill you, wouldn't it? It would eat at you for eons; never knowing. But I will grant you one last attempt to break me. So, Khione, do your worst." The last sentence was a whisper. And a harsh one at that.

Never in her life had Elsa disrespected someone as much as she had Khione. To be honest, she hadn't really gotten the chance or motivation to have such appalling behavior before meeting her biological mother. But now that Elsa had started rebelling and proving how different she was from the goddess, she couldn't stop. She had to prove that she was better than Khione in every way. She felt the need to prove that she was good, and Khione was bad. That she was light, Khione was dark. That she was kind, and that Khione was merciless, inconsiderate, inhuman and antagonistic.

This need rose up again in her.

She needed to be the hero. But Khione needed to be the villain. Otherwise, Elsa could not prove her points. She'd done her best to get under Khione's skin enough for the goddess to want to attack her and actually do her worst.

Elsa swallowed; waiting for Khione to prove herself the villain. But nothing happened.

For her, this was mostly a failure, rather than the victory it actually was.

She wanted to prove herself, as long as her consciousness was trapped. But Elsa had no chance to do so.

She could feel self-hatred creeping up inside her. Self-hatred that she had thought that long ago had vanished when she and Nico became close. Elsa began feeling empty inside. Lonely. She didn't feel like that she could go on. She just couldn't.

Elsa fell to her knees, and crawled back to the wall. She leaned against it and just let it out. It felt good to not hold back at all. It was a relief.

Crying felt so good to her. She needed it more than anything, at that moment. The only thing Elsa cared about was how this would look to Bianca. Bianca… Elsa needed her right then. She needed comfort. Someone to be there for her. Someone to comfort her. She'd never needed something like this more than she needed it right then.

Most of all, Elsa needed love. She knew that there was love in her heart, she just couldn't find it. The time she needed love most, Elsa could not find the love in her heart. Typical. This was just her luck.

Elsa sent a prayer to Aphrodite to send love. Any kind of love would do. She just needed love. Platonic or romantic. Platonic love would comfort her most. She needed the familiarity. Romantic love was foreign to her.

She needed Bianca's comfort. Bianca was gentle, sweet, kind, and beautiful. She was a true Angel to Elsa. Her guardian angel.

She was starting to stop caring about anything. She just needed to cry. Nico and Bianca were the only people who truly cared about her and her as a person. And Bianca was dead. Not even her parents or Anna truly cared, because they didn't know the real her. This broke Elsa's heart.

She let out loud, heartbreaking sobs. The ground underneath her froze, and her tears stuck to her cheeks because they had been turned to ice on accident.

"Won't somebody love me?" Elsa whispered in Norwegian.

* * *

**A/N: Some parts of this are based on when I went through depression/when I have relapses. Sooo... Sorry if it was too intense. If you need to, message me or let me know if you need trigger warnings. Your mental health is more important to me than anything. So, I will take that extra, maybe, thirty seconds to add in a trigger warning for you, if you let me know.**


	21. Chapter 21

Khione had struck back. Hard. It turned out that she had just been collecting nightmares to send to Elsa. Waiting until her guard was down. The nightmares were worse than the week where Elsa had done her best to avoid sleeping due to the scenes she was forced to endure.

The nightmares were nonstop; flooding Elsa's mind with the worst scenarios where she was pretty much powerless. Not all of them included Nico. A good amount of them featured bad things happening to Anna, which was new. This was what hit her the hardest.

Elsa finally broke. Not only was Khione dangling images of her and Nico getting separated, and him getting hurt and killed, but she was also showing Anna getting hurt and killed too. That was too much for her. She knew that Nico was strong and a hero, and if he did end up getting killed, he would at least be safe in Elysium because he lived the life of a hero. Anna however… She would be stuck in the Fields of Asphodel, like most of the spirits in the Underworld, which, according to Nico, was a sad place. Nobody there was happy it was just a giant field of misery. Anna, if the dreams did come true, would die before experiencing all that life had to offer, and after that, would fade away like the dead in the Fields always did. She was Elsa's little sister too… Elsa was protective of her little sister, especially after her freezing Anna's head… She wanted to make things right. She'd done the worst thing possible afterwards, which was shutting Anna out.

Nico would be alright. He was a son of Hades. That didn't mean that she wouldn't care if he died, but Anna was her younger sister. She had a duty towards Anna. Anna couldn't take care of herself. She was too young and naïve. Innocent and full of childlike pleasure. Elsa hoped that she'd stay that way and that Khione would never lay a finger on Anna. Otherwise, there'd be hell to pay.

Elsa hopelessly moved through each scenario, letting each bring more and more of a slump to her shoulders. She was being beat down more and more with every nightmare. She was already broken, but Khione was breaking her more and more; again and again.

* * *

Nico was tired. Mentally, that is. He was tired after winning the war. It had taken a lot out of him. He'd earned his father's respect, which was an unexpected plus to the war. He half couldn't believe that he'd finally made Hades proud. The other half of him just decided to go with it and enjoy it while it lasted.

He was currently staying at Camp Half-Blood. Nico was overseeing the construction of a Hades cabin. As soon as it was finished, he'd go back to Arendelle to get Elsa. He'd then bring her back to Camp, and hopefully adjust her to the modern world. One of Nico's hopes was to introduce her to Hades. He knew that his father wouldn't hate her as much as he hated Percy. The first reason was that Elsa had common sense, and she was cautious. She knew what Khione was capable of, and Nico figured that she wouldn't want to make another enemy out of a Greek god or goddess. Second, Elsa was actually polite and had been taught proper etiquette since she was very small. Knowing Elsa, Nico knew that she would treat meeting Hades like she was meeting a king of another country, which she would be doing, to be honest. Third, Elsa wouldn't make her first impression by demanding that Hades give back a dead relative.

Elsa was more reserved when they were around other people. She seemed guarded, and didn't talk as easily. Nico could sense that she had built up walls. When they were alone together, the walls came down. They knew that they could talk about anything together.

Nico was anxious to see her again. He didn't know how she was doing. He didn't want to just randomly disappear one day and return a few hours later. Granted, they would probably think that he had just gone to the Underworld, but he didn't want to return without Elsa. She had been trapped in Arendelle her whole life. He understood that it was the only home that she had ever known, but it didn't hold good memories for her. Nico wanted her to be in a place where they could create new, good, memories for her to associate with a place that could possibly become home for her. If Camp Half-Blood wasn't a good place for her, they would move on until they found a place that they could both call home and feel welcome and safe. They both needed to feel like they belonged in a potential home, because the two of them had become a family. If they didn't feel like they belonged, it would defeat the purpose of the potential place.

To be honest, Nico wouldn't even care if the both of them were completely secluded; a home was a place where they both felt safe, welcome, had a sense of belonging, and could be their self. Arendelle wasn't a true home for Elsa. It was merely the only place she had ever known. That was one of the two only reasons that she considered it a home. The other reason was Anna, but both of them knew that they couldn't do anything about that. Anna was mortal, and she couldn't go with them. Plus, she was safe in Arendelle. She would be fine. The king and queen of Arendelle truly loved and cared about_ her. _Nico figured that the old saying, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' came into play there. He knew that Elsa would be heartbroken in leaving Anna and Arendelle for good (mainly Anna though), but it would be for the better. He was pretty sure both of them knew that.

Nico, more than anything, wanted to go to Arendelle and take Elsa back with him, but the Hades cabin wasn't finished yet, so he couldn't. He wanted for there to be a cabin where she could stay. Elsa wasn't staying in the Hermes cabin. Not on his watch. They would probably steal her belongings, pry into her personal life and past, or refuse to give her the space and privacy she needed, or just do things that would make her uncomfortable and more closed off.

Camp was almost over. Percy and Annabeth would leave Camp at the end of the summer.

Nico had felt his heart sink when he learned that they were together, but he pushed it to the side as he worked on the Hades cabin and his plans for taking Elsa back with him. He was going to let all of the summer only campers leave, and then he would bring her. The fewer people the better, he supposed, concerning her transition. Elsa would prefer it that way. She wasn't very used to people.

It was the middle of September when he left Camp Half-Blood to go back to Arendelle. The Hades cabin was finally finished. Cabin 13. He was satisfied.

It was still warm and summery outside. The summer only campers had left. Nico was confident that right then would be the best time to go get Elsa. He hoped she was ready. If she wasn't, he would just stay with her until she was ready.

Nico took one look around Camp before melting into the shadows.

He reappeared in the woods near Arendelle; closer to the trolls than to the town. Nico walked over to the area where the trolls lived. He could sense something wrong in the air. There were nervous whispers instead of cheerful talking. There were few trolls to be seen. All of them looked worried. Almost like someone had died. Elsa wasn't around.

No…

Nico sprinted over to the trolls.

"Do any of you know where Elsa is?" Nico asked breathlessly.

The trolls looked at each other sadly. One sighed before speaking up.

"You'll need to talk to Grand Pabbie." Nico felt in his gut like he had missed a step when coming down the stairs. Like a rug had been yanked from under him.

"Where is he?" Nico asked.

"He should be near Elsa's cave." Another troll spoke up. "It'll be best if you don't go in though." Nico frowned, and nodded. He scampered over to Elsa's cave. The door was shut, as it almost always was when she was in there. He placed a hand on the doorknob. He took a breath.

He'd seen death. He'd seen the dead. He'd seen dead bodies. He should be fine? So why was Nico so hesitant to open the door? It was just Elsa… Dead… He swallowed before closing his grip over the doorknob. He turned it, and opened the door.

Nico's breath got caught in his throat. He couldn't breathe.

On the bed, there lay Elsa. She was so pale… Her platinum blonde hair was loose and had been combed over her shoulders... Her hands were folded and resting on her stomach… Her eyes were closed… Her lips were slightly apart… Elsa looked so peaceful… Dead…

Nico collapsed to his knees; tears in his eyes. His head drooped as he let out a sob.

Dead… Elsa was dead…


	22. Chapter 22

"Elsa!" Bianca's voice cried out into the cave. It echoed. She wasn't looking for Elsa. She knew exactly where the Arendellian princess was. Bianca was more just screaming out in horror.

Elsa was lying on the ground. She was crying her eyes out. Bianca couldn't really blame her. She was broken. Bianca would have done the same, had she gone through the horrors that she suspected that Elsa had been forced to endure.

"Don't you dare give up on me, Elsa! It's what Khione wants. Please, stay strong." Bianca pleaded. She was close to tears. "She-she wants you to die. She changed her mind. She's happy with you dying. Please keep fighting. Don't let her win." She choked up, but pushed it aside, speaking again. "Please, Elsa. Don't give up. My brother needs you. I know Khione broke you, but you can still be saved. I swear on the River Styx, you are not broken forever. You can be saved. You can still go back to the regular world. You just have to hold on, and wait. For Nico. Wait until he can perform an act of true love to save you. I know my brother. He will. He will save you, and you can go to Camp together, and you can start a new life." Bianca's voice gradually got higher pitched as she kept talking. She kept getting choked up with sobs, but she kept pushing it aside. She had a job to do. "You will live in a place where nobody will judge you for who you are, or your powers. They know what it's like to be judged. America is a much better place than Arendelle. Camp Half-Blood has friendly people. And if that doesn't work out, you could try the Hunters of Artemis. They would let you in. You'd be immortal, if you joined. You would never have to worry about a broken heart with them. You'd be with the Hunt forever. When you leave Arendelle, one door may close, but so many others will open for you. You will see and do so much. So much more than you ever could if you just stay in Arendelle. Have you ever been to the beach? They have one at Camp. They also have a forest that you could roam for hours. There are monsters inside, but as long as you're armed, you'll be fine. The world is so beautiful and amazing, Elsa. You just need to give it a chance. Just please don't give up." Bianca was really crying now. "Please… Don't let yourself die. I could never forgive myself if you did. And if you won't keep fighting for me, do it for Nico. Do it for my brother. Stay strong for him." Elsa was still lying on the ground in a fetal position. Bianca sighed. She couldn't really blame her though. She wasn't sure what the princess had gone through, but she knew that it must have hurt her profoundly. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, Elsa." She promised. "I'll do my best to stay with you until my brother can save you." And she sat there. Waiting.

* * *

Nico immediately cursed Khione. And then Thanatos. And then his father. But mainly Khione. It was her fault that Elsa was dead. She had killed Elsa. His only friend… The only true friend that he'd ever had… She was dead… Gone… Forever…

"Elsa… I'm so sorry. This is all my fault…" Nico whispered, standing up. "It's my fault that you're dead now, and I'm sorry for that. If we'd never met, you wouldn't be dead right now." He sighed, stepping over to her immobile body. He looked at her sadly, tears finding their way down his cheeks. He placed a hand on her ice cold cheek. She didn't move, not that Nico expected her to. After all, she had been killed by her mother.

A white handmade quilt covered her from the waist down. It was almost as if she were asleep… But she would never wake up. Never.

Nico hadn't only lost his best friend. No; he had also lost a sister. Elsa had become his sister. Not a replacement for Bianca, but an addition to his small family of him and Bianca. Not a replacement, but an addition.

* * *

Bianca tensed as she listened to one of the saddest sounds in the world echo around the room. Nico was crying. For Elsa.

"Elsa, Nico's there. He's with you. He thinks you're dead." Bianca urged Elsa. "He might commit the act of true love now. Just hold on. Be patient." Bianca placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder. Her hand felt like it was moving through thick mud as it went through Elsa's body. "No…" Bianca murmured, retracting her hand. "Please… Give her more time… Give Nico more time." She pleaded. "Just a little more time… That's all he needs…"

* * *

Nico shakily removed a few gold drachmas from his pocket, and slipped them into Elsa's pocket. He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a silver ring with a pair of angel wings on it. He held it in his shaking hands. He opened his trembling mouth to speak to Elsa's body. An empty shell.

"This was my mother's. My father gave it to me." Nico murmured. He took her cold, stiff hand and slipped it onto her index finger. "Now it's yours." He felt himself get choked up. "Even though we weren't related, you are and always will be my sister. Now I've lost two of my sisters..." He sighed. "I wish I'd been there to say goodbye. But here I am now… I guess this is my goodbye…" Nico took a breath. "You were my first real friend, before you became my sister. You understood me, and I understood you. After Khione froze both of our hearts, we bonded even more, and became siblings. I wish I had been able to spend more time with you before you had to go. I swear; it wasn't you. It was the war." Nico's voice hitched. "They needed me. But if it hadn't been for the war, maybe I could have prevented Khione from… From killing you. Or been with you while you died. If you're not yet granted access across the River Syx, I gave you some gold drachmas. Don't settle for EZ Death. You are too strong for that. Tell them that you and I were close, when you get to the judges. If you don't get Elysium, I personally will have a conversation with my father." Nico was crying, but he was trying to cover it up. "Anyway, I'm giving you my mother's ring because you are my sister, and that means you are a di Angelo. It means angel in Italian. I guess you're a ghost at best now. I hope you and Bianca get to know each other. I mean, both of you are out of reach to me now." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, I'll try to stay strong. Like you. I'm sorry things turned out like this. Goodbye, I guess."

Nico bent down to hug her. "I love you, Elsa." He whispered before bowing his head to kiss her ice cold forehead.

* * *

"You're saved now. He did it. My brother saved you." Bianca said, smiling through her tears. She looked up at the light reaching the dark room. "Goodbye, Elsa. Take care of Nico for me." Bianca stood, looking around. She was alone in the room. She smiled wider.

* * *

The second Nico's lips touched her forehead, Elsa gasped for breath; her ice blue eyes flying open. Nico jerked back as Elsa sat up suddenly. She was panting for breath.

"Nico?" She whispered, disoriented. She looked around wildly; slightly panicked.

"Elsa!" Nico threw his arms around her, and held her close. He let himself cry even more; no longer holding back. His tears were not from sadness, but from happiness and relief. He had only one reason, and he only needed one.

Elsa was alive.

Elsa was alive.

_Elsa was alive._

* * *

**A/N: TBH, I felt evil this whole week... Leading you to believe that Elsa had died. BTW, to those of you who were like, 'But wouldn't Nico have felt it if she were dead?' There's your answer. But... There was always the possibility that his emotions got in the way of him using his powers. Actually, that's what happened here. He was dreading her death, and he led himself to believe that she was dead, so he didn't think to use his senses.**


	23. Chapter 23

After Elsa had awoken, and she realized what was going on, she hugged Nico back. She had started crying, and refused to let him out of her sight. Before she left the cave, she'd braided her hair and put on a black cloak, and left the hood up. She held onto Nico's hand while they were outside her cave, and she kept her head bowed. Elsa wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. Nico suspected that it was because she was silently crying. She began wearing a belt with the Stygian ice dagger strapped to it. She also began wearing thick gloves.

None of the trolls questioned Elsa's actions. They merely gave her and Nico a nice large meal, which they ate together silently. Elsa didn't seem to have much of an appetite. After their meal, Elsa refused to go to bed. When a troll suggested that she get some rest, her head snapped up. She looked terrified, and shook her head violently, begging that they not force her to go to sleep. Elsa was hysterical. To calm her down, Nico had to hug her, and hold her in his arms until she was finished.

When night fell, Elsa asked that Nico accompany her on a walk together. Alone. He agreed.

"I bet you're wondering what happened to me." Elsa murmured in almost a whisper as they walked through the woods; alone. "First, and foremost, I must apologize for my actions." Her voice cracked. She refused to look at Nico.

"Elsa—" Nico started, but she interrupted him.

"Let me finish." Elsa took a breath. "I do not know how long I was unconscious, but it was long enough. Khione… She froze my head." Nico gasped, and squeezed Elsa's hand. "I was working with my powers one day, alone, and I created an orb of my powers. I was going to launch it in the air, and it would make snow fall. It was something I remember from when I was younger. But when it stopped glowing gently, and shining a violent, blinding light, I closed my eyes on instinct. I could feel myself losing control of it. I tried to cover my eyes, but the orb… It followed my hands and passed into my head. I passed out after that. I awoke in a cold and dark place. I was so afraid…" Elsa's voice faded to a whisper. "I was told, by a voice, that it was where the cold of the Earth and the darkness of the Underworld meet. A place between dreams and reality. The voice also told me that it was where life and death battle."

"Who did this voice belong to?" Nico asked gently.

"Your sister." Elsa replied simply. "Bianca. She explained that the place where my consciousness was trapped was technically part of the Underworld, and that other spirits had seen Khione around there."

"Why didn't Bianca's spirit tell me about something that important?" Nico breathed. "I could have prevented all of this from happening."

"No, you couldn't have." Elsa sighed. "It could have been worse. Khione could have kidnapped me, and held me captive. My body was just in a coma. I am thankful that she didn't kidnap me. Had she done that, I would probably be dead now. Of course, she did torture me. Mentally, that is. Not physically. Luckily." She took a deep breath. She knew that she had to hide the fact that she had been broken; that she was now just the broken shards of something that had once been perceived as stable and beautiful. Elsa couldn't let Nico know that she had been broken. _Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show. _Her motto again. But for different reasons than previously. This was not about her powers. This was about her mental and emotional states.

"Why is it lucky that Khione tortured you emotionally and mentally?!" Nico exclaimed.

"Because I'm here and I'm safe now." Elsa murmured. "She didn't kill me. Don't you see? It's okay now. You saved me. It's fine now." Nico sighed, but let it be. He didn't want to upset her any more than she already was. He could see past the façade; something was wrong. She just didn't want to show it. He knew that she had gone through lots of trauma, and that would most certainly have effects on her.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Nico finally said. He sighed.

"When do you have to leave?" Elsa asked softly. Her head was bowed again, and she clutched her black velvet cloak around herself. The hood was up. The only visible part of her was her face and neck, which almost had the appearance of floating in midair due to the darkness.

"I don't," Nico replied simply. "We won the war. Everything's better now. There are cabins for the minor gods, and one for Hades. I didn't want to come until the Hades Cabin was finished. That way, when we go, you'll have a cabin to stay in. I reckon you'd rather be in a cabin with me rather than a cabin with a bunch of unfamiliar people." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"So I can go?" Elsa asked. A faint smile crept onto her face. The first smile Nico had seen on her face since the last time he saw her. Before her head had been frozen. Nico let himself smile too, and nodded. Elsa threw her arms around him and began crying tears of joy and relief into his shoulder. Nico smiled wider, and hugged.

"You'll never have to come back here again if you don't want to." He promised. He figured that Elsa probably wouldn't want to be in Arendelle—or Norway, or even Scandinavia for that matter—after all of the bad memories she had experience there. He knew that it was probably time for a new start for Elsa.

* * *

"I do think that a fresh page would be best for Elsa, after that coma." Grand Pabbie said to Nico. They were talking privately. Elsa was getting fussed over by the other trolls. She was due for another meal to put on weight again, since she had lost some. "But, I must inform you that she may be overwhelmed by all of the changes in the modern world. She has lived her whole life here. Arendelle is over a hundred and sixty years behind the modern world." He warned.

"The place we're going won't have so much new technology." Nico assured him. "Everybody there will likely speak English as their first language, but I can translate for her. They will also make several references she won't understand, eat strange food, and wear strange clothing. Hopefully, Elsa won't feel too out-of-place." He sighed.

"Deep down, I am not yet sure if Elsa is truly ready to leave Arendelle." Grand Pabbie sighed. "She thinks she is, but I believe that she needs a few days at the least. At least to rest before going. I worry that if she doesn't learn to sleep normally here, she never will." He sighed yet again. "Sadly, I must give Elsa the choice. She must learn to make her own choices now. She will have to learn from her mistakes. That is a part of life."

"So you're going to just let her leave?" Nico asked, awed.

"I must, or else she will feel like she is being chained to one place, and will grow to resent us. Nico, you must promise me that you will let her do what she wishes to do with her life, as long as it is within reason, and support her no matter what." Grand Pabbie said very seriously. "She has so little left. You are the only person she will have left in her new life." Nico felt that sink in.

"I swear; I will do my best to take care of her." He promised after a minute. "Elsa, although not biologically, is my sister." Grand Pabbie nodded with a tired smile.

"Support her no matter what she does. Her biological family did not do that. At a very crucial age, she has already been taught to keep things in. We have done our best, but she still has not let go of what she was taught for four years. Teach her what she should be taught. Help her to become the very best that she can be. And above all, teach her to be good to herself. This is a skill you too have yet to learn." Grand Pabbie instructed Nico. The son of Hades nodded once, and looked the old troll in the eyes.

"I will."


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Okay, there is something I want you guys to understand before you read this chapter. Elsa has just been traumatized. She's been forced to lose both Nico and Anna in her dreams with NO comfort whatsoever. Please understand that Camp was seen in Elsa's mind as a place where she could be herself. Now she is no longer so confident. She has become co-dependent on Nico, which is understandable, but not healthy. Please just remember that Elsa isn't going to just be magically cured by going someplace new. Think about the psychological things going on that are not mentioned.**

* * *

Nico stood outside Elsa's cave. The door was wide open. Elsa was merely doing some last-minute packing. She and Nico were going to leave Arendelle for good, as soon as she was ready. It hadn't even been a day since she had woken up from her coma, but she insisted that she was ready and wanted to leave Arendelle. Nico, heeding Grand Pabbie's words, agreed to take her as soon as she was finished packing. Nobody protested, probably because Grand Pabbie had likely forbidden them from doing so.

Elsa looked around the cave to check to see if everything she needed/wanted was in her leather backpack. She was covered from the neck down in clothing. Stockings, gloves, long sleeves… she was more reserved and dressed more modestly now. She was afraid. Despite knowing that clothing didn't change anything, Elsa's clothes reflected her mood most of the time. It was something to do when she was locked up in her room. A habit she had formed.

When her feelings were more negative, she covered more skin, and dressed in dark colors. When her feelings were more positive, she didn't feel the need to cover so much skin, and dressed in lighter colors. Her favorite color, in fact, was light blue. Like Anna's eyes.

Around Elsa's neck was the necklace with the symbol of Arendelle, though she had tucked it underneath the neckline of her dress. She didn't want anybody to see it and ask about it, or recognize it later on. She, despite her bad memories, wanted Arendelle to be left alone. Foreigners and outsiders were not really welcome. Arendelle did not need tourists or intruders. It was secluded from the modern world for a reason.

Elsa took out a small package wrapped in fabric. Inside was the jewelry she'd taken from her room in Arendelle castle. She put the package in her pocket. She was going to sell it, one piece at a time, in the modern world. She knew that she would need money. She wanted a normal life when she became an adult. It would be lovely if she just got that. A job where she didn't have to have too much human contact, food to eat, and a relatively nice place to live… That was really all she needed.

She knew that she would have to eventually learn how to get along without Nico. Either he would die or he would abandon her. Elsa almost hated herself for hoping that it would be the former rather than the latter. She would surely fall apart if Nico abandoned her. Especially if he did it out of hate and disgust for her. He was all she had. He was the only family she had left.

Elsa stared at the ring with the angel wings that Nico had given her. It was on the middle finger of her right hand. It looked very central and balanced there. Her right hand was her dominant hand. It was probably the most precious piece of jewelry that had ever been given to her as a gift. Sure, she had been given gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and so many other precious jewels and metals, but they had nothing on the silver ring.

She moved to look at herself in the mirror. With her hair in the bun so much like her mother's, Elsa looked older than she really was. So much older…

It didn't help that she had, not even two days previously; she had been trapped in a coma. Despite all of that sleep, she had dark circles. Because she was so pale, the dark circles looked worse than they were really were. The thing that possibly contributed to her aged look was the devastated look on her face. Especially in her eyes. Her eyes looked like she had been broken beyond repair. There was a certain mixture of sadness, devastation, and a forlorn longing. Instead of a neutral facial expression, she had a forlorn look to her resting face. Elsa didn't have the mental nor physical energy to force her face to do something else.

The way she held herself… It looked like she had given up on life.

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, and turned away from the mirror. She couldn't bear to look at it any longer. She opened her eyes, and brushed imaginary dirt off her navy blue dress's long skirt that went down to her shins. It had a thick black belt/sash around the waist. Her dagger was strapped to the belt/sash. The navy blue stopped at her shoulders, and the sleeves were black all the way to her wrists. Her gloves blended into the sleeves. Elsa picked up her velvet cloak and put it on; securing it at her neck. She put the hood on, and picked up her leather backpack.

Nico looked up as she exited the cave for the last time.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded. He held out his hand. Elsa took it, and the two of them began walking. They'd already said goodbye to the trolls.

"Nico, I have something for you." Elsa murmured. Without stopping, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out a silver ring. It was stamped with black snowflakes. "The trolls gave it to me so that I would always remember that my powers are a part of me, but I want to give it to you. You're my brother, and you've given me your mother's ring. It only feels right that I give this ring to you. Words cannot express all of the reasons I want to give this ring to you." Nico accepted it. He smiled, and slipped it on his middle finger. They'd done that whole exchange without even letting go of each other's hand.

"Thank you, my _sorella._" Nico smiled faintly. Elsa nodded, not smiling. She looked to the ground.

"Are we going into the modern world before going to Camp Half-Blood?" She asked.

"I wasn't planning on it." Nico replied. He knew that too much change at once, especially in this state, might be too much for Elsa. She was fragile at the moment. Not that she wasn't strong, but even the strongest of things could break at one point. After she recovered, Elsa would be even stronger than she'd been before. Nico was sure of this.

"I'm not sure I want to meet any modern mortals at the moment." Elsa confessed. "So this will probably be best."

And then, the conversation stopped. Not in an awkward way though. Neither of them really felt the need for conversation. It was just quiet. The two walked together still.

They stopped when they got to the cliff near the North Mountain. The one where Elsa liked to sit, think, and throw rocks. Or used to…

Elsa surveyed the area; talking it in one last time, and then looked to Nico. She nodded once.

They melted into the shadows together.

* * *

Elsa found herself in a field of grass, under a tree. When they had left Scandinavia, it was around dawn. Here, it was morning, and it clearly had been for a while.

There air was warmer than that of Arendelle. It wasn't exactly warm though.

"What time is it?" Elsa asked.

"Um… About noon." Nico replied, squinting up at the sun. "Hard telling for sure right now though." Elsa looked to the sky. The sun was close to overhead.

"What month is it?" Elsa asked.

"It's September. Late September." She nodded at his response, looking around and seeing all the changing leaves.

"Shall we walk to Camp?" Elsa asked, her voice a monotone. Nico held out his hand again. She took it, and the two of them began walking. Nico explained about roads, cars, technology, and things that at Camp that she wouldn't know about. He knew she was listening, despite her not looking like it. She was merely building up protective walls. She didn't want anyone to find out the truth about her past.

It went unsaid that the story would be that Nico found Elsa in Norway, and they became friends. They wouldn't talk about her parentage, where in Norway she was from, or anything about her life.

"Nico," Elsa piped up. "When we get to Camp, could you speak for me? My accent… I don't… I don't want everybody to look down on for me for having one." She looked down at the ground.

"Of course." Nico said sincerely. Elsa smiled faintly.

"Maybe after some practice, I can fade it, and then I will be able to talk to speak to people." Elsa murmured. "But I don't want to be around anybody without you. I don't feel comfortable with other people." Nico looked at the girl he considered his sister. He smiled sadly.

"Hey, it's going to get better." He promised. "You've got me." They paused in walking so that Nico could hug Elsa. He heard her begin to cry into his shoulder. He rubbed her shoulder.

"I'm scared." Elsa sobbed.

"I know." Nico sighed. "I would be too, if I were you."

"During the shadow travel," Elsa hiccuped, "I had a vision of my parents kicking me out of the castle. I only had the clothes on my back. My father was yelling at me to leave. They were saying horrible things. They told me to go over and over. Anna was standing behind them, and every time they told me to go, she would mouth the words, 'please stay'. And then, my father took out his sword and told me to leave or else he would run me through with the sword… The guards… They dragged me away." She began crying harder. "I was older… So was Anna…" Nico hugged her tighter.

"I swear to the gods, that's not going to happen." He promised. "I'll protect you."

* * *

**A/N: The part where Elsa looks in the mirror is something I really want to stick with you. Elsa's vision was inspired by a song. If you're curious, just ask, and I will tell you, but it was a hint at something about Elsa. Not saying anything else though. Just remember that she has been damaged from all that she has been through. **


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: REMINDER: ELSA WILL NOT BE ACTING EXACTLY LIKE YOU WANT HER TO AT CHB. Remember that Khione BROKE her. She is traumatized.  
**

* * *

Elsa was secretly terrified. Suddenly, Camp didn't sound like the paradise it once had. She realized that she'd be different from all of these people. She'd be an outsider. She came from a very different place than all of the campers. True, Nico would be there for some time, but she didn't know what would happen when he abandoned her. She knew that it would one day happen. She just didn't know when.

Trust no one.

Conceal, don't feel.

These were her new rules. This was a time when 'conceal, don't feel' was imperative. Nobody could know the truth about her. Any of it.

Elsa felt something slightly heavy in her pocket. It was a weight that she carried with her. One that she would always carry.

Her crown. It reminded her that she had abandoned Arendelle. She would always wonder if it was the right thing to do, leaving her home. For her safety, it was.

But she had left Anna and a village of people who would have one day called Elsa their queen. But that responsibility would fall to Anna now.

Elsa could no longer take care of her little sister. She felt most guilty about that. She had abandoned Anna to protect her. Now she would never see her again. She regretted never having said goodbye properly. She also regretted locking herself up and telling Anna to go away so many times. She should have had more time with her sister. Everything that had kept them apart before… It seemed so small now that they were so far apart.

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, and let a tear escape. She wiped it away.

"Here we are." Nico murmured. "Half-Blood Hill…" Elsa looked up the large hill. There was a pine tree, and a blue and white farm house, but that was it.

"That's all?" Elsa asked, confused. "But… I thought there was more to the Camp…" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's just over the hill." Nico promised. The two began the slow trek to the top of the hill. "Maybe, once you're comfortable, we can tell Chiron that you're a daughter of Khione, and so you can design a cabin for yourself." He suggested.

"Maybe," Elsa said softly. She tugged the hood of her cloak further over her face, making sure that nobody would see her face. She bowed her head. Nico knew that she was more comfortable hiding herself than anything.

When they reached the property line, Nico immediately walked past the pine tree, but he felt Elsa let go of his hand. He whirled around, confused. She looked at the pine tree nervously, and slowly stepped across the property line. She nodded once, letting out a breath.

Nico knew better than to ask why. Once upon a time, before Khione had made herself known, Elsa's biggest worry, back when she was whole, was that she might not really be a demigod. This reminded Nico of how long he had been waiting to bring Elsa here. To help her find a home. He hoped that Camp would work out as a home. If it didn't… Then he would take her somewhere else, and keep trying. Even if it meant a cabin in the woods in Canada. Or Death Valley in California.

Elsa took Nico's hand again as the two of them trudged to the deck of the Big House. Nico knocked on the door. Elsa tensed, and bowed her head further, hiding her face.

Nico tried squeezing her hand reassuringly. It didn't work.

The door opened, and Chiron was in his wheelchair. He looked surprised to see Nico standing there with a hooded figure with a black cloak.

"Nico di Angelo," Chiron acknowledged. "And who is this?" He asked, looking at Elsa. As part of their act, Elsa was going to say that she couldn't speak English. Nico would translate.

"She doesn't speak English." Nico stated. "I translate for her."

"There's no need." Chiron said with a smile. "I speak most languages. What does she speak?" Nico chewed on his lip, hesitating. Elsa squeezed his hand, signaling that it was okay to tell Chiron.

"Norwegian," Nico replied.

"What is your name?" Chiron asked Elsa in Norwegian. She looked up. She curtsied mildly.

"Elsa." She replied, her accent thicker than usual.

"Do you have a last name?" Chiron inquired. He looked at her, slightly surprised.

"No, not that I am aware of." Elsa replied softly.

"Nico," Chiron said in English, "Are you aware that Elsa speaks an old form of Norwegian, back from over a hundred years ago?"

He did his best to look surprised. "No, I wasn't."

"The two of you had better come in." Chiron sighed, and turned, going deeper into the house. Nico silently urged Elsa along. She took off her hood; being polite.

Both of them were awkwardly perched on the edge of the couch, both having refused refreshments.

"How old are you?" Chiron asked Elsa. The conversation was in Norwegian, which was the language all of them understood, to Chiron's knowledge.

"Thirteen," She replied. She kept her answers short and simple.

"Do you know your godly parent?" Chiron asked patiently. She shook her head in response. "Does that backpack contain your belongings?" She nodded, choosing not to speak. "How did you and Nico meet?" She tensed.

"On accident." Nico jumped in, saving her. "I got lost shadow traveling." He explained. "And I accidentally met her."

"Interesting..." Chiron commented. "Are the two of you good friends?"

"Yes." Nico said, deciding to take the lead for both him and Elsa.

"Does she have any family back in Norway?" Chiron asked seriously.

"No." Elsa spoke up, sounding hollow.

"Are you sure?" Chiron asked.

"Yes."

"Who cared and provided for you then? Or were you out on the streets?"

Elsa did not answer this question.

"She was living in a castle when I found her." Nico said after a pause. "An old one."

"How did that happen?" Chiron asked, clearly interested.

"I had no other place." Elsa sighed. "I lived in a cave at one point too…"

"You look well taken care of." Chiron pointed out.

"I took these things." Elsa stated firmly. "I needed them."

What they had led Chiron to believe was that Elsa was an orphan from Norway who, after living in a cave, had moved into a castle museum, and stole to survive. They had to lie a little bit, but they limited it.

"Elsa doesn't like people much." Nico began. "She has a hard time trusting people, and she's used to isolation. She does, however, trust me. I know that we probably do not have the same godly parent, but can she share a cabin with me until she is claimed? She won't be comfortable with the Hermes cabin. She will be terrified, and trust none of them. She cannot sleep with people she doesn't trust in the room. Elsa has led a lonely life, and I am the first person she has opened up to. She trusts me, but nobody else." Nico warned. "Please don't force her into a place where she isn't comfortable."

"Nico, you have been around long enough to know the rule that states that a male and female camper cannot be alone together in a room." Chiron warned. "However, due to the situation, I realize that in this case, something must be done." He sighed. "Would your father be alright with her in the cabin?"

"If he met her, he would approve of her." Nico replied solemnly. "And I promise that nothing will happen in that cabin. She… She and I don't… We don't like each other in that way. We… We care for each other as siblings do."

"I saw that in the way you look at her with concern." Chiron commented. "The two of you may share a cabin, until she is claimed. I presume you are giving her a tour?" Nico nodded. He and Elsa stood. "Before you leave, I must inform you that the Hunters of Artemis have stopped by for a few days." Nico tensed. Elsa placed a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps Elsa might want to look into them?"

"She's fine." Nico said through gritted teeth. He took Elsa's hand and led her out.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked, putting her hood back on. They walked down the steps of the porch.

"You remember what I told you about the Hunters, right?" Elsa nodded. "That's why. But, if that's what you really want…"

"It's not." Elsa assured him. "I'm happier with you. I trust you." She surveyed the Camp.

"Well, this is it." Nico gestured at the camp. "Allow me to give you a tour." He smiled wryly.

* * *

**A/N: What I want you guys to get out of this chapter is how Elsa closes herself off now. She has her regrets about leaving. **

**Also: Elsa's outfit is on the link on my profile. It has the ring that Nico gives Elsa, and the ring that Elsa gives Nico. PLEASE check it out.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: ****On one of the reviews, one of you commented on the fact that you liked the way I kept it realistic; with Elsa broken and traumatized. I was surprised at that, to be honest. But then again, I am sure a lot of writers would make it so that she was fine and all that. That astounds me. Some writers are so mediocre that they don't understand how traumatizing certain events can be, and how that can affect people. IDK... That just sort of stood out to me... Sorry for the little mini rant.**

* * *

Elsa felt overwhelmed. There was so much she had never seen before at Camp Half-Blood. Nico had explained everything, but seeing it in person was a very different thing. Perhaps the easiest things to understand were the things from Greek Mythology. Suddenly, everything was so different from what she was used to. Nico had done his best to tell her about the things of the modern world, but it didn't do much to prepare her for all that was in front of her.

A lot of the people they encountered stared at them. Elsa had a sinking feeling that it was because of how she was dressed. Despite wishing that she could fit in, she couldn't bear to change how she dressed. It was one of the few things she had left. She would have only her crown, her hairstyle, and her memories. Arendelle had been her home. Sure; she hadn't felt safe or like she belonged there towards the end, but still; it was the one place where she sort of fit in. People welcomed her presence. She would have liked to been with the people of Arendelle; she really would have. Sadly, she wasn't allowed out of her room after the tragedy involving her accidentally freezing Anna's head. Her mind was poisoned to think that she was dangerous to be around, and that people would reject her the minute they found out about her powers, and that they would think her a monster.

Elsa avoided looking at anyone in the face. Suddenly, Nico stopped her in front of a pure black cabin with torches burning green fire.

"This is the Hades Cabin." Nico told her. The two of them were speaking Norwegian, as to give them an illusion of privacy in their conversation. Since Chiron had said that it was an older version of Norwegian, they both felt more comfortable speaking it, as it had to be distinctly different from modern Norwegian, if Chiron had brought it up. "Also known as Cabin 13." He stepped aside. "You can just put your stuff down in there if you want." He shrugged. "I've still got the whole camp to show you." Elsa nodded as she opened the door just enough to put her stuff down on the inside of the door, and then shut it again. Nico offered his hand. "Shall we continue?" Elsa took it.

"Let's."

The tour was strange to Elsa. She had fun seeing which cabins belonged to which gods and goddesses. As she expected, there was no cabin for Khione. She didn't even bat an eye at that fact.

The tour was well focused on the important things. Well, at least the things Nico felt were important.

"There is one person you should meet though." Nico told her. "I've saved this for last." Elsa tensed.

"Who is this person?" She asked nervously. "Should I speak English? Or will you translate?" What Elsa was really asking was if she should be herself in front of this person.

"She will speak Norwegian." Nico promised. "And you don't have to hide in front of this person." He led her to the center of the cabins, where there was a young girl tending the fire in the middle. He guided Elsa with him. He brought her to the bench across from the girl, and bowed. Elsa curtsied as soon as she saw what he was doing. "Lady Hestia." He acknowledged.

"Nico di Angelo." She greeted with a smile. She looked around nine or eight. Her eyes were as red as firelight, because, Elsa realized, they were filled with fire. A warm fire though. She had brown hair that was covered by a scarf, and wore a simple brown dress. "I see you've brought a friend." Elsa looked to Nico. He nodded, and smiled.

"Lady Hestia," Elsa bowed her head. "My name is Elsa."

"You were the Crown Princess of Arendelle, weren't you?" Hestia asked fondly.

"Yes… But that is my past. This is now." Elsa murmured sadly. "I am no longer welcome there."

"But, that is your past. You have it in your hands to create your future." Hestia replied. "Now Elsa, do you know who I am?"

"The goddess Hestia." Elsa replied. "Sadly, my book of myths may have only mentioned you a couple of times, so I do not know what you are goddess of."

"I am goddess of home and the hearth." Hestia explained patiently. "I am the tender of the flame."

"It is nice to meet you, Lady Hestia." Elsa murmured, her head bowed. Nico placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She slouched, and let her shoulders slump down. "It has been a rough journey here."

Hestia sighed sadly at Elsa.

"I must warn you Elsa," Hestia began. "Your path… It will not be kind… You must stay strong. I promise that your fate is better than you expect it to be. You _will _find a home. But you must work for it. It will not be easy, and sadly, I can offer little comfort to you before you finish this path." Elsa sighed.

"I understand." She lifted her head slightly. "But why must you tell me this?"

"If I do not tell you this… Then no one will." Hestia explained sadly. "I know that you have been broken, but you must stay strong no matter what happens. A step back is not a failure. Remember what I have said, Elsa. Elsa… Arendelle." She smiled kindly, yet sadly, at Elsa.

With that, a horn blew.

"That's the dinner conch…" Nico murmured. "Thank you, Lady Hestia."

"Yes, thank you." Elsa bowed her head.

"Both of you are very welcome." Hestia suddenly disappeared, but leaving the flames.

"We should get to dinner." Nico murmured. He took Elsa's hand, and the two stood. They carefully made their way to the dining pavilion. Elsa kept her hood up. Nico explained a lot of the food to her very patiently as they took some. When they sacrificed food to the gods, Elsa thought of Hestia, and hoped that the offering would go to the first kind goddess she had ever met.

The two sat across from each other during the meal. They got plenty of looks and stares. Luckily, the Hunters of Artemis distracted a fair number of people who decided to stare at Nico and Elsa.

During the meal, Chiron, in full form, made an announcement.

"Good evening Campers!" He said. "Tonight, the Hunters have graced our presence. As usual, we shall play a game of Capture the Flag tonight; Campers vs. Hunters." Nico scowled. Elsa frowned, and reached out; taking his hand.

After the announcement, Nico barely touched his food.

"Nico, it'll be alright." Elsa soothed, speaking in her mother tongue.

"Just promise again me that you won't let them persuade you to join them." Nico pleaded, also in Norwegian.

"I won't." Elsa promised.

"Good… Now let's see if we can beat them this time." Nico mumbled.

* * *

**A/N: Visual links are on my profile; please check them out!**


	27. Chapter 27

In New Hampshire, far from Camp, Rachel Elizabeth Dare was alone in her dorm room. She was sitting on her bed, drawing something she had seen. Suddenly, the Oracle took over; green mist coming from her.

"_One strong emotion_

_Will arise from commotion_

_Causing home to freeze_

_With surprising ease_

_Whilst the Snow Queen's palace of ice_

_Is built in a trice,_

_Three will climb the mountain to seek her_

_And one shall be there to eliminate fear_

_So the Snow Queen will return, _

_But there is still a lesson she must yet learn._

_When one is taken, they shall pay a cost_

_And though it mustn't be retrieved, true love will be lost."_

She spoke. After the prophecy left her, she slumped down over her drawing of a castle made of ice, on top of a mountain of snow.

* * *

Elsa was nervous. She hadn't used any sort of sword since she was little; then only using a wooden one to play games with Anna. She had refused any sort of armor before finding out that she was to be on guard duty. She was stationed by the creek, which was the border. Nico was stationed further down. He'd asked that they be stationed together, saying that she needed him to translate things for her, but the others insisted that they needed people to lead an offensive attack.

Hopefully, Nico would be within earshot if she screamed.

Elsa's tactic was to hide behind a bush. She was wearing her cloak; her hood up. She was scared, but she supposed that if she had become queen and war had come up, things would have been like this, except a lot more real. She would have been commanding an army, and fighting with them. She would be with the cavalry, sitting atop a horse, dressed in special armor designed specifically for her. She would fight with the general at her side, and he would advise her in battle.

She didn't like how here at camp, they would make games out of war, which they clearly knew nothing of the real sort. She read of devastating wars where thousands were lost. Thinking of that and what real war would be like back in Arendelle brought tears to her eyes. She already missed the land where she grew up.

Elsa looked to the moon. It was like an orb floating in the sky. It was the same moon that she had looked to back in Arendelle. The sky was the same sky she had looked up at. That would always be with her. And Nico. He would be there. He'd saved her life before they left Arendelle.

Arendelle… Hestia had called her Elsa Arendelle. True, in this world she would need a last name. Maybe that was a way so that she could hold onto her homeland, but still have a fresh start. Back in Scandinavia, a last name was not needed. She only needed her title, and her first name.

"Elsa Arendelle, age thirteen." Elsa tested in a whisper, speaking out against the still and quiet of the woods. "My name is Elsa Arendelle. I am thirteen years old." She was speaking English, and her accent was thick, but she didn't feel so alone. The silence had been broken. It had been pounding against her ears like waves against a beach. She took a breath, and let it out, breaking the silence even further. She couldn't even hear anything. Border patrol was easy. She wished that she might have been able to at least contribute a little bit to the strategy—no! What was Elsa thinking? She couldn't do that. They wouldn't accept her into their group. She didn't belong anyway.

Elsa sighed. No matter what, she couldn't run from the inner turmoil. She would always have conflicting feelings inside.

She unintentionally let out a sob. She drew her cloak around her to try to keep herself warm. Elsa felt tears forming in her eyes. She blinked, and one escaped. She was crying. Elsa stood up; tired of crouching. She sniffled, and let out a small sob.

"What, are you crying?" A loud voice said. Elsa whipped her head around, trying to see the person whose voice it was, hastily wiping away the tears.

She dared not speak. Not in English, anyway.

A large girl with a few people following her showed themselves.

"Yeah, she is." One of the people said.

"Wimp." The large girl snorted. "Stop sniveling like a baby." Elsa pulled her cloak around herself. She wrapped her hand around the handle of the borrowed sword.

"Stop." She whispered in Norwegian. The word in English and the word in Norwegian were very similar, so the large girl should have gotten the message.

"What'd you say?" Mocked the larger girl.

"Stop." Elsa said louder, still in Norwegian. She was terrified, but she had to stand up for herself. She had to fight her battles.

"Why should we stop?" The larger girl asked with a smirk. Elsa knew that it was probably time to speak English and ask this girl to leave her alone. She took a breath.

"I do not like what you are saying to me." Elsa said slowly, trying to minimize the accent that came out when she spoke another language. She had gotten used to Nico understanding her accent, so she was worried that these people would make fun of her for the thick accent.

"Oh, you don't? Well too bad." The larger girl pushed Elsa back. The daughter of Khione stumbled. "And you know; your accent is hard to understand."

"English is not my first language." Elsa replied. "I speak Norwegian as my first language. I have also learned several languages. You have no right to criticize me for having an accent after learning so many languages." Elsa bit her bottom lip.

The larger girl laughed.

"Grab her."

Before Elsa could react, she was grabbed by her arms, and held still. The large girl strode over and reached into Elsa's pocket. The one with the crown.

The large girl removed the crown, and began examining it.

"Give that back!" Elsa screamed, struggling against the people who held her still. She didn't know what to do. "NICO!" Elsa screamed. She stepped on one person's foot, and fought to get to her crown.

"What's so special about this crown?" The large girl laughed. "What, did your daddy give this to you? Are you Daddy's Little Princess?" To Elsa, this felt like she was walking down some stairs and had missed a step.

"You. Know. Nothing. About. Me." Elsa growled, fighting back tears.

"It's just a silly piece of metal, Princess." The large girl smirked. She was mocking Elsa. "I mean, why do you even have this with you? It's not like you'll ever be royalty. Only snobs still carry around a tiara when they're over ten years old. You want to think you're a princess, but you're not. You aren't, and you will never be."

Elsa screamed in anger as she fought even harder to get to her crown. There were tears in her eyes. Suddenly, she felt one off her gloves accidentally pulled off. She gasped as her hand was exposed to the air. The ring Nico had given her dropped to the ground. She swooped down to pick it up, and placed it safely back on her finger. Then she remembered; she had to get her crown back.

"You know, you act like you're better than everybody else, only talking to your friend, wearing a cloak, and dressed up. And you carry a crown in your pocket." The girl guffawed. "You're such a snobby brat."

"GIVE IT BACK!" Elsa yelled. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. She was finally free from the people trying to hold her back. She fought to get to her crown.

"Elsa!" Nico's voice rose above the roaring in Elsa's ears. He tackled her. "Clarisse, give the crown back!" He commanded.

"This is not your fight Nico." Elsa said, getting up, and for the first time, pushing him away from her. "This is mine."

"Listen to the girl, death boy." The girl, apparently Clarisse sneered.

"What's going on?" Some other campers wandered over, along with some Hunters. All of them had heard the commotion.

"Give me my crown!" Elsa begged.

"Elsa, just walk away." Nico grabbed her gloved hand, and her shoulder as if to lead her away. "Just walk away. Calm down!"

"LET ME _GO, _NICO!" Elsa screamed at him, shoving him off. He took her glove with him, but behind the glove came a large patch of dangerously spiked ice; the points aiming at Nico. Elsa gasped, jerking her hands back. She turned and saw that she had created identical patches of ice. The crowd had grown. Everybody looked shocked. Elsa felt all of the eyes burn into her.

"Elsa…" Nico stood up. She had almost hurt Nico. She had pushed him away. He had only been trying to help her. And she could have killed him. She could have hurt him. He could have died by her hand. All because he was trying to help her.

"No." Elsa whispered. "No!" She turned, and fled from the scene.

* * *

**A/N: I bet ya'll thought that Elsa was going to have a fun time at Camp, and you were excited for her to get there. LOL Look how wrong you were. **


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm really excited for this chapter, because this was one of the original chapters I wanted in here, when I first thought of this story. Back when I first started thinking about it (it was VERY different back then, let me warn you) I basically wanted a Let It Go sequence in the story. I knew that I had to have that there, just because I love the song Let It Go, and I love the Let It Go Sequence. **

**I would advise you to either listen to Break Free by Ariana Grande or Let It Go (of course) while reading this chapter. I also have another visual on my polyvore for you guys. The link is on my profile.**

* * *

_Run._

That was the one thought on Elsa's mind as she ran, leaving a trail of ice behind her. She was terrified. The only way out of the crowd was through the creek. She second she had stepped on it, it turned to ice; not that she'd noticed at first. She ran deeper into the woods, fearing that they would come after her. She followed the creek until she found the edge of the woods. There was what seemed like a mountain at the edge. Elsa climbed it, glancing behind herself to check to make sure nobody was following her. She didn't notice that it had started to snow hard.

She was climbing the edge of the valley. She looked down at the camp, but looked away. She couldn't bear to look at it too much.

She closed her eyes. Grand Pabbie had told her that her power would grow, but it would possess beauty, and danger. She knew of the danger, but what of the beauty in it?

Elsa opened her hand, allowing a plume of snowflakes form. She tried again with her other hand.

He was right… It was beautiful. Elsa smiled, and created more snowflakes. She launched them in the air. She laughed, and moved her cloak out of the way.

"Well… The cold never bothered me anyway, so why wear it?" Elsa questioned aloud before taking it off and dropping it into the snow beneath her feet. She ran forwards, forgetting the article of clothing. She wanted to know what it was like to try her powers. She kicked her shoes off, and shed her stockings. She wanted to go barefoot for the first time in her life, and feel the snow underneath her feet. She used her Stygian ice dagger to cut the sleeves from her dress before dropping the sleeves on the ground, and cut other parts of her dress out, especially the part that covered her shoulders. She wanted to feel the snow on her body. Elsa put the dagger back in her belt. Maybe she would need it later. After all, it was good for a defense mechanism. She hadn't yet mastered her powers, but she planned to.

Elsa crouched on the ground, and picked up some snow, and threw it into the air, feeling it rain down on her. She laughed, and ran up the mountain. She leaned over, working to climb up to the peak. This would have been easier had she been wearing shoes, but she didn't mind too much.

Her necklace's pendant fell out of the neck of her dress. Elsa frowned, taking the copper in her hands, and examined it, standing still. She yanked it from her neck; breaking the ribbon that made it a necklace, and turned, looking down at the valley. She threw it as far as she could.

Arendelle was no longer a part of her story. It was her past, not her present. Nor would it be her future, so why hold onto it? It was Anna's future now, not Elsa's. It was no longer her concern. Elsa smiled, and turned back to climbing the mountain.

When Elsa reached the top, it crossed her mind that she needed a home. Somewhere where she could be herself, and still be safe.

Looking back on her trek up the mountain, Elsa decided that it was too much of a trek to be worth it to any camper but Nico, if he truly wanted to come up. But she would make sure that she kept him safe. She would keep him away from her.

She wanted a castle. A real castle. Not like the one in Arendelle; an exquisite castle all her own.

"I'll make it myself." Elsa decided, smiling gleefully. She stamped her bare foot on the ground, and so began the making of her ice castle. She made it to please only herself. When she finished the main room (complete with a beautiful chandelier), which extended out to a balcony via a pair of doors, Ela decided that she needed an outfit to go along with her new home. She couldn't be the Snow and Ice Queen in the ragged dress she had torn apart. No; she would turn it into something beautiful.

Her navy blue floor length dress soon became a beautiful shimmering dress of lighter blues, and crystals made of ice. It had sheer sleeves, and a cape trailing behind her. She created a crystal belt and heeled shoes for herself. She removed her hair from the bun she kept it in, and moved the remaining braid over her shoulder, and slicked back her bangs.

She looked at herself in a mirror of ice.

One thing was missing. A crown. She was the Queen of Ice and Snow. And a queen needed a crown.

Elsa formed a crown of ice in her hands. A tiara, actually. It had blue and clear crystals on it, causing it to glitter in the sunlight. It was dawn. She had spent the night climbing the mountain, creating her new home, and her outfit to go with her new life.

She looked at the crown in the mirror. She knelt.

She had torn a slit in her dress to make it easier to walk or run, if she wanted. She was free to do whatever she wanted in this castle. She was safe from others, and others were safe from her.

Elsa looked to the mirror, and crowned herself.

"Elsa," She said to her reflection. "Queen of the Ice and Snow." After she said this, she stood slowly, and stood up straight. She smiled at herself, and turned to the doors leading out to the balcony. The sun was still rising.

Elsa opened the doors, and walked out. She took hold of the rail of the balcony. She smiled serenely at the valley below her. She frowned when she saw that anyone could get to the castle still. She leaned down, and created a row of spikes around the castle, and then another. She made several rows of ice spikes. Now everybody was safe from her, and she was safe from them. She turned away from the valley below her, and walked back inside, shutting the doors behind her.

The deed was done.


	29. Chapter 29

As soon as Elsa had fled the scene, Chiron had called off the game of Capture the Flag and for the cabin counselors and Lieutenant Hunter to a meeting, after having every other camper and Hunter to go back to their cabins until further notice.

Nico sat at the ping pong table, shocked. He hadn't expected Elsa to flee from the scene, but then again, maybe he was just in shock that she could have hurt him. It was obviously an accident though. She looked horrified at what she had done, and he had seen the regret and fear in her eyes. She hadn't meant to hurt him; Nico was sure of that. The ice was an accident. He shouldn't have been so pushy in trying to get her to calm down. He knew how much the crown meant to her, or at least he had an idea.

He should have been a little gentler and hugged her or done something in the form of comfort instead of trying to make her walk away and calming down. Nico regretted everything he had done.

It took a lot of will on Nico's part not to kill Clarisse for antagonizing Elsa. She sat across from him, kind of in shock too.

Chiron called the meeting to order.

"Everybody, we have a situation on our hands." Chiron said calmly. "A new camper has gone missing. Her name is Elsa."

"She hasn't gone missing; she ran away." Nico cut in bitterly. "And that was because of Clarisse."

"Nico, please don't point fingers. That won't help right now." Chiron said, staying calm.

"I didn't know that she would freak, okay?!" Clarisse protested, rolling her eyes. She put the crown on the table in front of her. "Here, since she wants it so badly."

"I _can't _give it to her now, because she _ran away _because of you and your friends." Nico snarled, standing up and taking the crown. He carefully put in his pocket.

"Nico, Clarisse; that is enough." Chiron said firmly. Nico sat down, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Now, Rachel Dare called to say she had a prophecy." Nico's eyes bulged, and he choked.

"No way," He whispered.

"The prophecy," Chiron said, not noticing. "Is a long one. Rachel is on conference call with us at the moment, and she will recite it for us." From the phone came Rachel's voice.

"_One strong emotion_

_Will arise from commotion_

_Causing home to freeze_

_With surprising ease_

_Whilst the Snow Queen's palace of ice_

_Is built in a trice,_

_Three will climb the mountain to seek her_

_And one shall be there to eliminate fear_

_So the Snow Queen will return, _

_But there is still a lesson she must yet learn._

_When one is taken, they shall pay a cost_

_And though it mustn't be retrieved, true love will be lost."_

"Thank you Rachel." Chiron said.

"I'm sorry I can't stay on conference call for longer, but I have to go." Rachel said with a sigh. "I'm really sorry." She hung up.

Nico sat in his seat, frozen. The prophecy Elsa had told him of… This was it. This was the prophecy about Elsa. She was the Snow Queen.

"Well," Chiron was saying. "Clearly the emotion Elsa felt was panic."

"No, it wasn't." Nico found himself saying firmly. "She wasn't panicking. She was afraid. It was fear. I know her powers. Fear is what makes them work against her will. She was terrified. And then she felt remorse for nearly hurting me. She was horrified at what she had done. She's afraid of her powers. Elsa felt fear, not panic. She knew what she was doing when she ran."

"Nico, why don't you tell us what we're up against then?" Chiron asked. "We don't want anybody getting hurt."

"Elsa's powers are more her business than anything else." Nico said with a sigh. "She was taught to fear them. Fear is her enemy though. She knows this." He took a breath. "From what the prophecy says, she will make and ice palace. I don't know what a trice is, but,"

"A trice is a short period of time." Thalia said from the corner. Nico chose to ignore her.

"I need to be one of the three climbing this mountain to find her." He finished. "It has to be me. I know this."

"I should go too." Thalia said. "I learned how to track things, plus my father is Zeus." Thalia looked around the room for any objections. Nico scowled, but didn't say anything. He knew there had to be three people going with him.

"Any other volunteers?" Chiron asked. "We need three people." Nobody spoke up. All of them knew what Elsa had done. Nico knew that they figured that if Elsa did that on accident, then who knew what she could do on purpose when she was angry?

"Fine, since nobody'll do it, I will." Clarisse said, rolling her eyes. Nico clenched his jaw. This trip was going to be nothing but agony for him.

* * *

"What the…" Thalia hissed when she opened the door leading out of the Big House. It was snowing, and there was already a thick blanket on the ground. She and the counselors were going back to their cabins. Nico, Thalia, and Clarisse were going to prepare to leave. "Did… Did she do this?" Thalia asked Nico, in awe.

"She had to have… The prophecy, remember?" Nico muttered, putting aside his distaste for the Hunters of Artemis. "'Causing home to freeze with surprising ease'? I think this is what Rachel meant."

"I don't know about you two, but I need a jacket before I do this." Clarisse grumbled. "Death boy doesn't seem to need anything though."

"Meet by the woods in thirty minutes?" Thalia asked.

"Sure." Nico muttered.

"Fine." Clarisse grunted. The three of them went their separate ways to their cabins.

Nico had everything he really needed already. He had his jacket and sword. He didn't need anything else. But he went to his cabin anyway, if only to put on another shirt to keep him warm.

He stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Elsa's things right inside the door. It was just her leather backpack. He felt sad and guilty just looking at it. Nico should have been there for Elsa. He should have protected her and been a good friend to her. If he had just stuck with her, they wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place. He would have been able to protect Elsa.

Nico sighed, and bowed his head as he walked inside of his cabin, shutting the door behind him. He made no move to brush the snow off his clothes or out of his hair. The only thing left for him was to go after Elsa and apologize. She was all he had.

* * *

Nico stared at the snow covered ground. It was almost completely dark out. He was waiting at the edge of the woods for Thalia and Clarisse. It was cold out, but Nico barely noticed.

"Hey," Thalia said, approaching. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Nico muttered. "We just have to wait for Clarisse."

"Joy." Thalia grumbled. "If it weren't for her, we wouldn't even be in this mess."

"That's exactly how I feel." Nico said, the corner of his mouth curving up into a smile.

"So…" Thalia said, changing the subject. "You have a friend with ice and snow powers… How'd you manage that?

"Accidentally shadow travelled right near her. We began talking, trusted each other… We're best friends now." Nico said with a shrug. Thalia smiled.

"How long have you known about her powers?"

"Ever since the second time I saw her." Nico said, not elaborating on purpose. "We don't really talk about our powers."

"Are you sure you can get her to come back?" Thalia asked seriously, looking to the sky.

"Of course." Nico said, faking confidence. "Why do you ask that?"

"It kinda looks like she's camped out on that mountain." Thalia replied, pointing. Nico followed her gaze to what looked almost like an ice palace glowing in the darkness.

"Wow…" Nico whispered. "Elsa…"

"Okay, I'm here." Clarisse said, strolling over. "So what's the plan, death boy?"

"We go up the mountain, find Elsa, and the two of you stay back while I talk to her." Nico said firmly. "Let's go."


	30. Chapter 30

Nico led the way through the woods. The three held flashlights, provided by Chiron. He held his sword ready to kill any monsters that dared to hinder him from getting to Elsa. Nico focused on everything but the fact that he was with Thalia Grace and Clarisse La Rue. Like the snow on the ground, and the fact that it was still snowing. There was a trail of ice, presumably created by Elsa, that he was following.

Nico didn't know how much time had gone by as he walked through the woods. He ignored the fact that his hands and feet were numb.

"Hey Nico," Thalia called out.

"What?" Nico said, still walking, and not turning.

"When we get to the other side of the woods, we should set up camp. It's getting late, and we need some sleep. But it'd be a total waste of time if we just went back." Thalia suggested. "I mean, what good will it do if we aren't at the top of our strength when we climb the mountain?" Nico thought about her words for a moment and sighed.

"That's probably best." He agreed. "But we should be kind of away from the woods to ensure we aren't ambushed by any monsters."

"Don't worry about that." Thalia replied. "The tent I've got will repel monsters."

Nico was silent after that. The thing he wanted to focus on most was getting to the other side of the woods. He had no idea how much further it would be. One step meant he was one step closer to finding Elsa. Once he got through the woods, that would mean that he was that much closer to finding Elsa. He didn't particularly like the fact that he had to wait until morning to climb the mountain, but he supposed that it would give her time to cool down and maybe think. This gave Nico time to plan what he was going to say and what approach he was going to take. After all, this was a delicate situation, where the wrong thing said could mean, for both of them, a natural disaster. Nico was more the type of person to actually cause a natural disaster, but Elsa, now that she felt free to use her powers, accidentally create a blizzard in anger, or do something as bad or possibly worse. Nico didn't know how much control she had over her powers, but he didn't want to take any risks.

Nico remained deep in thought as he, Thalia and Clarisse trekked through the woods. When they reached the other side of the woods, Thalia effortlessly set up the tent by throwing a silver cloth on the ground. The inside looked really comfortable, complete with a fireplace, pillows and blankets, and a table of fresh fruits and water.

He wasn't particularly hungry, so he passed on eating something. Clarisse and Thalia however, made small talk over their small meal. When they finished, Thalia set up her bed of sorts at the tent entrance, which was closed.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked her, breaking the awkward silence.

"I'm going to sleep by the entrance." Thalia stated, matter-of-factly. "Just in case something happens. I'm the least likely of the three of us to die."

"Joy," Clarisse grumbled. "Just what I want to think about. Us getting killed in a tent during a snowstorm."

"It's not a snowstorm anymore." Nico said through gritted teeth. Clarisse was on his last nerve. "It was, while we were having the meeting, but then it slowed to a stop. It's only lightly snowing now."

"Either way, I really don't want to die in a tent in the snow." Clarisse snapped back. Nico sighed, thoroughly irritated.

"Neither do the rest of us, Clarisse." Thalia informed her, sounding kind of irritated. "That's why I'm sleeping by the entrance to the tent with weapons at the ready. We won't die from being cold, because the fireplace and blanket should keep us warm enough. We—the Hunters—have dealt with worse weather conditions. We—the three of us—will be okay." With that, the three fell silent. Nico stared at the ceiling of the tent for what felt like hours before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Elsa's laughter and smiling face wove in and out of his dreams. He dreamed that they built a snowman together, were mourning some sort of double death (in that dream, Elsa was older, and there was a younger girl with strawberry blonde hair clad in black near them), and Elsa battled Khione, using her ice powers. In each of the dreams, Elsa was happy; smiling and laughing. In the last one, her happiness made no sense. He woke up feeling confused, though he hid it over breakfast.

When the finished their meal and broke down the tent, one question arose.

"How are we going to get up there safely and without slipping?" Thalia asked. "It's pretty steep, and packed snow—I speak from experience—can turn into a smooth surface you can slip down if you're not careful. I don't want to chance it."

"Which is why I brought this." Clarisse reached into her backpack and brought out a Celestial bronze grappling hook with rope. The rope looked stronger than normal rope, like it was magical, which it probably was. "The Hephaestus cabin had one of these sitting around, and I borrowed it. I actually asked for it, if you're wondering. Anyway, it's magic, so it will go further than a normal one would, and it will grab onto the nearest thing that we can use to pull us up." She explained with a smug smile on her face. "I bet the two of you thought I was useless, didn't you?" Neither Nico nor Thalia replied to that last bit.

"Thanks for thinking of that, Clarisse." Thalia said, smiling. "Wanna throw it up for us?" Clarisse moved away from them, and picked up the rope, giving the grappling hook plenty of slack. She swung it in circles over her head before letting it go. It went at least twice as far than it would have, had it not been magical. It was about a hundred meters up the mountain. Nico could see that it was hooked on a tree. The tree looked strong, so He hoped that it would be safe. "Nico, why don't you go first? You're smaller than me and Clarisse, so we'll see how that tree holds up." Nico nodded silently, then took the rope, and started pulling himself up the mountain. He was walking, but he eased the difficulty of it by leaning back and pulling himself up. His arms would be tired by the end of it, but he knew that he was much closer to helping Elsa than if he were just walking up the mountain. This was faster, and in the long run, easier than just trying to walk up a steep mountain covered in snow.

Nico was about twenty-five meters along when he felt the rope tighten behind him. He glanced back, and saw Thalia begin to climb the mountain. He went back to watching in front of him for good places to put his feet.

Soon, he came across a familiar black velvet cape. Elsa's. Nico picked it up with one hand. He turned down to his two companions.

"I found her cape!" Nico shouted, holding it up. "It was just on the ground here."

"See if you can find anything else of hers!" Thalia called up. "That'll lead us right to her." He nodded, putting the cape over his shoulder, and then he kept climbing. He _would _find Elsa.

They came across her abandoned shoes and stockings. Nico didn't touch those, but he became worried about her, and began climbing faster and with more strength in him. He began to assume the worst. Maybe there had been a monster attack. Or someone had gone after before he had…

The cape hadn't worried him. It could have been dragging her down, or it could have made her more visible. There were several save reasons. Her shoes were a little iffier. She could have taken them off because they might have fallen off a few too many times. There were legitimate reasons for Elsa abandoning her shoes. But her stockings… Nico was worried. Why would she take them off? It could be that they had gotten wet, and she'd wanted to take them off… But he was still worried about her. Elsa's footprints were covered, so he wouldn't be able to see if there were other footprints besides Elsa's.

Nico reached the tree pretty quickly after he saw Elsa's shoes and stockings lying on the ground. He saw something black on the ground right next to the tree. He picked whatever it was up. It was a pair of sleeves. Presumably from Elsa's dress. It looked like they had been ripped off. Nico grew more and more anxious and worried about Elsa. When Thalia reached him, she took one look at the sleeves, and bit her lip.

"You don't think…" Thalia murmured. "Do you?" Nico shrugged numbly. Not from the cold, but because he was so worried about the girl he considered his sister.

"I don't know." He replied, his voice accidentally a monotone. He had to work to keep his voice from cracking or breaking. He bit his lip hard. "I'm worried though."

"I am too, and I don't even know this girl." Thalia sighed, her shoulders drooping. "I'm concerned for the wellbeing of all innocent girls, I guess." Nico just sighed.

"What's wrong?" Clarisse asked, looking confused as she finished climbing that portion of the mountain.

"We keep finding clothing of Elsa's strewn across the path up the mountain." Thalia said grimly as Clarisse began to pulling the rope of the grappling hook up. "First it was her cape, which was innocent enough. Then it was her shoes, which would have been innocent enough on their own, but they were with Elsa's tights, which worries us. Now we've found the sleeves to her dress." Clarisse stiffened.

"What happened, do you think?" She asked, an edge to her voice.

"We're not sure, but we think…" Thalia stopped, swallowing. Clarisse's face paled.

"Oh gods…" She murmured. "This is all my fault. I should have just left her alone. I'm so sorry." Clarisse dropped to her knees, her head bowed. "I hope she's okay…"

"It's my fault too." Nico sighed. "I shouldn't have told her to walk away. I should have been a better friend to her."

"No. I take full responsibility for my actions and the consequences." Clarisse spoke in a monotone. "I caused this. This is my fault and nobody else's. And I'm sorry."

Nico sighed, remembering.

"Let's just keep going." He muttered.


	31. Chapter 31

It was still snowing as Nico, Thalia and Clarisse climbed the last portion of the mountain. It was hard to see what was in front of them, for the snow obscured their vision slightly. It was cloudy, and for some reason, there was fog, making it hard to see over ten meters in front of them. It didn't matter much, because they just kept climbing the rope. It wasn't like they'd get lost or anything. The rope, unless something happened to the grappling hook, would lead them straight up the mountain.

At one point, Nico found Elsa's Arendelle pendant on the ground, resting in the snow. It looked like it had been ripped from her neck, then thrown to the ground. Elsa wouldn't rip that necklace from her own neck, would she? Nico wasn't sure, but he did know that despite her not loving that necklace, it was important to her. He supposed that it was a reminder of her past, or something to that effect.

He pocketed the necklace and kept climbing. He wondered what he was in for when he and Elsa were finally reunited. The most he could currently do was hope and pray to the gods that something had hadn't happened to her. With the evidence at hand, he could only assume the worst or something pretty bad.

Eventually, he reached the end of the rope, and saw what the grappling hook had gotten gripped on. They were basically giant stalagmites made of ice. They faced all angles, and some of them, at the base, were thicker than Nico himself was. They were of all sizes and lengths though. But they were all dangerous. Nico was speechless. They looked sharper than ice picks. It was almost like a moat for the palace that lay behind the icicles.

"Did…" Thalia murmured in shock as she climbed up to Nico's side. "Did… _Elsa_ do this?" Nico tried to speak, but he couldn't. It took a couple tries before he could finally get some words out.

"I don't know." He confessed. "If she made it snow, then it might make sense. But if something happened to her… I don't know. I know of someone who might be responsible for this, besides Elsa. I'm praying that isn't that person."

"Who is that person?" Thalia asked. "Are they really that dangerous?

"I'd rather not say." Nico replied grimly. "Just pray that it isn't the person I'm thinking of." Before she could say anything else, Clarisse finished climbing the rope with a grunt.

"We're going to have to go on foot without any assistance from here." Clarisse informed them, picking up the grappling hook. She wound the rope up, and put the whole thing in her backpack. "The grappling hook won't be able to help in this forest of oversized icicles."

"Luckily, it's not that much further up the mountain to the ice castle." Thalia said with a shrug. "Unluckily, we could very well get stabbed to death by all the icicles. Clearly, the person who put them here doesn't want any visitors."

"Elsa wouldn't… Would she?" Nico muttered, before speaking louder. "Who wants to lead the way through the icicles?"

"I'll go first." Thalia volunteered. "I'm immortal unless I break my oath or fall in battle. The former hasn't happened, and never will. As for the second, well, this isn't exactly a battle, is it?" Neither Nico nor Clarisse complained. If Thalia wanted to venture first into a forest of sharp icicles, hey, that was her decision.

Thalia chose to get on her hands and knees when she entered the icicles, though putting on the hood of her parka first. She moved slowly and tentatively into the dangerously sharp icicles.

"I'm probably going to need to leave this here." Clarisse sighed, taking off her backpack. "Well, it's not like anybody's going to steal it, so it should be okay."

"Dammit!" Thalia exclaimed. She retreated out of the icicles. "Dead end. We can't go through them. We need to melt the ice. They're too big to break. Well, most of them."

"I might have a flamethrower or something in here…" Clarisse muttered. "Don't worry, not Greek fire. Obviously." She opened up her backpack and pulled it out. "Step back. Wouldn't want your eyebrows to get singed by this baby." Thalia and Nico stepped back as Clarisse used the flamethrower to melt some of the icicles. They covered their eyes to protect themselves. They could feel the heat from the fire. After a while, Clarisse finally spoke. "Okay, you two can relax. I melted us a path through the ice." The two turned to see that Clarisse, had indeed, melted enough of a path through the icicles.

"Thanks." Nico said awkwardly. "Let's go." He bowed his head and led the two girls through the melted path. They weren't far from the ice palace now. Possibly only a hundred meters. One way or another, Elsa was so close. He could make sure that she was okay.

He looked up at the ice palace in front of him. It was beautiful and elegant. It wasn't exactly Elsa's style, from what Nico knew, but there was the possibility that it wasn't hers. But this didn't exactly scream Khione either. Maybe it was Elsa's. Hopefully, if it was hers, she was safe inside, and nothing had happened to her.

"Whoa…" Thalia breathed, looking at the palace in front of them.

"Dang…" Clarisse muttered.

Nico bit his lip as he made his way to the few ice stairs leading to the door of the ice palace. He looked over his shoulder at Thalia and Clarisse. He exhaled.

"Um, not to be rude, but I think that the two of you should stay here." Nico told them awkwardly. "You two have been a great help, but this is something I need to do alone. I mean, Elsa's not exactly the best with other people. You know what happened… She's kind of isolated. I'm one of the few people she trusts."

"I understand." Thalia replied, nodding. Clarisse stepped forward.

"Hey," She said softly.

"Yeah?" Nico asked.

"Would you give her the crown and tell her that I'm sorry?" She requested. "She doesn't have to forgive me." Nico let himself smile.

"I will." He promised. He turned back to the door. He drew his sword before pushing the door open. He wanted to be prepared in case there was an ambush. He wasn't worried about Elsa attacking him; he was worried that there might be somebody there besides Elsa who might want to ambush him. Such as Khione, or some monster.

Nico stepped inside the ice palace, the door shutting behind him, and he looked around. The room was breathtaking. There were no words in any language to describe exactly how beautiful it was. There was a double staircase, a frozen fountain, and a chandelier. Some walls you could see through, others you couldn't.

"Nico?" Elsa's voice gasped, breaking the silence. Nico's head snapped in the direction from which Elsa's voice came.

"Elsa," Nico breathed.


	32. Chapter 32

Elsa looked… Different. She didn't look so pale or reserved. She no longer looked afraid and small. She no longer looked afraid and insecure.

She wore a glittering light blue dress with a slit in it. It had glittering sheer sleeves and train/cape at the back. Her hair was in a braid over one shoulder, with her bangs slicked back. There was a tiara on her head. She had a belt around her waist with the Stygian ice dagger tucked into it. One glance at her hands showed that she was still wearing the ring Nico had given her.

Elsa began to descend the ice stairs. She was wearing blue heels.

"Is…" Nico began. He cleared his throat. "Is all of that made from ice?" Elsa nodded.

"Yes, it is." She replied softly. "The dress is the remaining parts of my other dress that I didn't cut away covered with layers of ice. The shoes are ice too. So is the tiara." Elsa reached the foot of the staircase, stopping, leaving a considerable distance between her and Nico. He stepped forward. Elsa gripped the railing of the staircase, looking slightly afraid.

"I'm not going to hurt you. You know this." Nico said softly. "I just came here to talk to you."

"I-I'm not afraid that you'll hurt me, Nico." Elsa murmured. "I-I'm afraid that _I _will hurt _you_. I nearly hurt you back in the woods…" Her voice trailed off into a whisper, and there was a hitch in her voice. She looked like she was about to cry. "I'm so sorry…" She whispered, her voice scratchy.

"No, I'm the one who should be—and is—sorry, Elsa." Nico sighed. "I was an idiot. I shouldn't have told you to walk away. I should have comforted you. I'm sorry."

"I could have killed you." Elsa stated, her voice sounding strained. "I nearly killed you. Yes, I was afraid, but that is no excuse for nearly killing someone!" She began to tear up.

"Elsa, remember what Grand Pabbie said?" Nico asked gently. "He said that fear makes you lose control of your powers. You were afraid because you were in a foreign country, and there was a threat. People were coming to see what was going on, and you lost your gloves. You couldn't have controlled your powers. I'm sorry for making things worse. I should have comforted you. I should have helped you to feel love. Love is what helps you to control your powers, remember?" Elsa nodded her lips trembling. "Elsa, I'm so sorry for not helping you." He apologized, taking a step towards her, then another. "Will you please forgive me? And forgive yourself? None of this was your fault." A tear slipped down Elsa's cheek. She nodded, and Nico closed the distance between them with a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face into his shoulder, crying.

"I forgive you, Nico." She whispered hoarsely. They stood there like that for a moment, and then Elsa pulled away. "You should go." She said, changing her face to a guarded expression, and stepping away from any physical contact with him. Elsa turned and began climbing the staircase.

"Elsa, wait!" Nico called out. "Don't go! What are you doing?"

"I'm protecting everybody." Elsa said, no emotion whatsoever in her voice. "You probably shadow traveled here, so you probably didn't see the barricade to keep people out. It's a bunch of icicles surrounding the place, all of them sharp and dangerous. It's to protect them from me." She reached the top of the staircase as she said this, her back to Nico.

"Actually, Chiron organized a quest to go after you." Nico informed her, climbing the ice staircase with care, going after her. "We climbed the mountain, and melted a path through the icicles."

"_What?!_" Elsa gasped, whirling around. "No! That was meant to protect people!"

"Protect who?" Nico asked. "You're not going to hurt anybody, and nobody's going to hurt you."

"Nico…" Elsa sighed, looking frustrated and stressed. "Haven't you seen what I can do?"

"Yes, I have, and your powers are amazing." Nico replied firmly. "This palace is breathtaking. You're powerful. You covered the camp in snow."

"What?" Elsa looked confused. "I did that? I only thought I made it snow… Not that hard though…"

"You froze the camp." Nico smiled at her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Elsa, you're really powerful. You can do amazing things."

"I'm a monster…" Elsa whispered, looking down at her hands, not hearing Nico.

"No, Elsa, you're not a monster." Nico said, realizing that she was terrified. Of the other campers, what they thought, her powers, what they could do, being afraid, losing control, and mainly, herself. He grabbed her wrists. "Listen to me, Elsa." She yanked her hands away from his grasp with a scream, as if he'd burned her.

"You're not safe here." Elsa cried out, running up another flight of stairs. Running away from Nico. He ran after her.

"Elsa, calm down." Pleaded Nico. "It's okay. We're okay. I promise." Elsa reached a room, and ran to a pair of doors, opening them. They revealed a balcony. Nico was right behind her. Elsa gripped the railing of the balcony. She was breathing heavily. "Elsa, I'm here. Everything's fine." He placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay. I swear."

"Don't touch me!" Elsa pulled away. "Are you trying to get hurt?!"

"Elsa, calm down." Nico tried to soothe.

"I'm just trying to protect you!" Elsa screamed. "Why won't you let me just do this one thing for you after all you've done for me?!" Nico stepped forward slowly, but Elsa stepped back quickly.

"Elsa," Nico pleaded.

"No! You're not safe!" Elsa cried out. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. Her blue eyes were wide and full of fear. Her lips formed an expression of horror and fear. She clutched her hands to her chest. "Get away from me! I'm trying to protect you!"

"Elsa, stop it! You're only hurting yourself in this process." Nico began to raise his voice. "Just listen to me!" He began to move forward, towards Elsa, but the platinum blonde girl fled the balcony and went into the room, raising a giant wall of ice between the two of them. It caved over to cover Elsa. Nico placed his hands against the wall of ice, and banged his fists against it, frustrated. He pressed his hands against the wall, flattening them. He looked up with realization. Elsa was terrified. There was nothing he could do at that moment. She was terrified of herself and hurting Nico. He was scaring her even further with his actions. Nico stopped, and removed his sword, placing it on the ground. He stepped away from it and got down his knees, showing Elsa his palms. "Elsa…" He whispered. "We're not going to hurt each other. It'll be okay. We'll be okay."

"What if I hurt you though?!" Elsa screamed at him. "What if I accidentally kill you?!"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Nico said calmly. "Elsa… Please, just… Let me in. Remember the second time we met? You lost control of your powers, and I helped you calm down? This is almost the same thing." Elsa merely looked at him for a moment, her expression one of longing.

"I'm scared." She whispered, bowing her head, closing her eyes to hold back tears. "Nico… I'm afraid that I'll hurt you or someone else." Tears leaked through and froze at the corners of her eyes. She stepped towards the ice wall separating her from Nico.

"Elsa… It'll be okay." Nico tried to promise.

"How do you know that?!" Elsa shrieked. "How do you know that things won't go horribly wrong again, Nico?! Because if you know, you should tell me, because I need assurance! Tell me how you know things will be okay, Nico di Angelo!" Nico flinched, but remained calm.

"Because I trust you." Nico stated matter-of-factly, hiding any doubt. "I trust you, Elsa. You just need to trust yourself." Elsa looked shocked. She tried to speak, but her voice couldn't form any words, so she stood there, tears streaming down her cheeks, dumbfounded.

Nico slowly stood up, and gazed at his friend. She was trapped, where she was. There was no exit from the place she had isolated herself inside. She'd cornered herself… But if Elsa just melted the ice—which she likely didn't know how to do—she'd be free. Nico was right there outside, waiting for her. He was ready to break the ice if he could, but he knew that it was her choice. Elsa would likely only build another wall of ice if he broke down the current one.

"Why do you trust me?" Elsa managed to croak out.

"Elsa, I know you." Nico replied gently. "We've been friends for a while. Months. We've never abandoned each other. You have done nothing to break my trust. Yes, you nearly accidentally hurt me, but friends forgive each other. Anyway, it wasn't your fault. We both know that sometimes you can't control you powers, Elsa. None of this is your fault. Yes, it happened because you were here, but that just means you are the reason it happened. It's not your fault. Clarisse, the girl who took you crown, told me to apologize to you for her. She wanted me to give this to you." Nico reached into his pocket, and pulled out the crown, showing Elsa. She gasped. "Clarisse really is sorry…" Nico explained. "She said that you don't have to forgive her, but you just need to know that she's sorry." Elsa began to cry again.

"I want to break out, but I can't!" She blurted out. "I do want to talk to you and hug you, but I cannot! I do want to leave, and try again, but I'm trapped."

"It's okay, Elsa." Nico tried to soothe. "I'll help you get free. I promise."

"Nico?"

"Thalia?" Nico whipped around upon hearing her voice. "What are you and Clarisse doing here?"

"We heard yelling, and we were got concerned." Clarisse said in a monotone. "Thalia was the one who wanted to go up after you. I agreed after a bit of convincing."

Elsa stood silently, staring at Thalia, who had a silver arrow drawn. Her blue eyes were wide as she looked her up and down.

"Is she trapped?" Thalia asked, jutting her chin out towards Elsa.

"Uh, yeah…" Nico said, catching sight of Elsa, who was staring at Thalia. "Um, I don't think Clarisse's flamethrower will do the job safely…"

"Not a problem." Thalia said, shrugging. "Give me two minutes." She removed the arrow from her bow, sat down on the ice floor, and pulled out a rock from her quiver. She began to carefully sharpen the arrowhead. After a bit, she stood up, and nocked the arrow. She aimed far away from Elsa, and stepped back a few paces before letting the arrow go.

The arrow shattered the ice wall. Elsa was too mesmerized to scream.

"Sharper than an ice pick." Thalia informed them cheerfully.

Elsa tentatively moved forward towards Nico, her eyes still on Thalia.

"Let's go." Nico suggested, oblivious to the situation.

"Yes." Elsa managed. "Let's."


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: ****Those of you who caught you-know-what in last chapter, there's a little more in this chapter. Anyway, stuff in general just picks up this chapter. ;)**

* * *

When Nico offered his jacket to Elsa after they left the ice palace, Elsa refused, saying that she wasn't cold. But when Thalia asked if she was sure, explaining that she had an extra parka, Elsa caved in and accepted. The first time Elsa smiled was when Thalia helped Elsa into the parka.

Then Clarisse, after discreetly being given the crown by Nico, pulled Elsa aside.

"Elsa… What I want to say is… I'm so sorry." Clarisse blurted out. "For being such a horrible person. I-I was very immature and I totally regret making fun of you and just being shitty to you in general. I want you to have this back." Clarisse held out the crown. "I mean, I see you have something else going for you," Both of them smiled at Clarisse's reference to the ice crown perched on Elsa's head, which somehow looked more correct than the one that lay in Clarisse's hand. "But I now realize that this crown means a lot to you, and I think that anything that means that much to you should be yours."

"I accept your apology, Clarisse." Elsa said, meeting the taller girl's eyes. "And… Thank you." She swept the crown out of Clarisse's hand and into her own pocket. "You're right… It does mean a lot to me."

"You know, you made a beautiful ice palace…" Clarisse commented, looking at it with a smile gracing her lips.

"Thank you." Elsa replied proudly. "I-I never knew what I was truly capable of, until now… So, in a way, Clarisse, this is because of you. And I would like to thank you." Clarisse grinned.

"If someone is ever horrible to you, the way I was, let me know and I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget." Clarisse instructed.

"I'll remember that." Elsa stated vaguely. The two went back to Nico and Thalia. "Well, shall we be off?" Nico smiled and took her hand. The two of them walked together, Nico guiding Elsa to the icicles where they'd melted a path—or rather, Clarisse had.

"How are we going to get back down?" Clarisse asked once they reached the one melted patch. "I mean, I know we can walk, but it's pretty steep, and it'll take a while…"

"We could slide down." Elsa suggested. "I could create some ice, and we could slide down the mountain."

"Could it be sitting down?" Thalia asked. "I'm tired of standing…"

"Of course it could." Elsa replied, a certain gentleness in her voice. And that was that. She planted her foot in the snow, and willed for there to be a path of ice going straight down the mountain. "I'll try it first, to be safe. I'll make some powder down there so we won't have too hard a landing." She detached her hand from Nico, and sat down at the very top of the slide. Nico looked like he wanted to protest, but he knew that she would be okay. Elsa pushed herself, so she began to go down the slide.

Nico watched as his best friend rushed willingly down what was essentially a forty-five degree angle mountain. She was brave, he would give her that. Maybe this was the new Elsa. He could get used to that. Honestly, he could get used to most versions of Elsa. They were basically family.

"I'll go next." Nico volunteered. Nobody protested. He sat down, and pushed himself. The rush from barreling down the mountain at top speed was actually pretty amazing. Nico closed his eyes, and felt the wind on his face.

Eventually, he landed in a pile of snow to catch him when he fell.

"Are you alright Nico?" Elsa asked, helping him up.

"I'm fine." He assured her. He noticed that there were ice crystals in her braid, which was back over her shoulder. The ice crystals had, no doubt about it, been put there on purpose while he was coming down the mountain. "What are those for?" He reached out to touch them, but Elsa stepped away.

"I just thought that they'd look pretty." She mumbled, looking down to the ground. "Do they look bad?"

"No, they look fine." Nico assured her. "But what brought this on? You've never been concerned with your appearance before…"

"It's nothing…" Elsa brushed it off. "I mean, I'm thirteen now… I'm a princess and demigod… The modern world won't respect those the way that Camp and the Kingdoms would. People will make judgments, and I need to look presentable so that they immediately have respect for me. I also want to be proud of my appearance." Nico raised an eyebrow. Elsa looked embarrassed and uncomfortable, so Nico stepped off the subject.

"Oh, by the way… I have something of yours." Nico pulled out the pendant of the lotus blossom. Elsa gasped, accepting it.

"I really regretted throwing this away, and now I have it back!" Elsa hugged him. "Thank you so much Nico!" Nico smiled, and wrapped his arms around Elsa. When she pulled away, he took a good look at her. His smile faded as he noticed that she somehow looked right in the silver parka, and her braid pulled over her shoulder. The parka was zipped, so he couldn't see her blue ice dress, so he was left imagining her in Hunter attire. He bit the inside of his lip.

"So, are we staying together?" Nico asked, strained.

"Of course!" Elsa looked shocked that he would think anything otherwise. "Why would you doubt that we would?"

"No reason." He choked out.

"Nico… Please tell me the truth." Elsa pleaded softly. "What makes you think that I wouldn't? You're like my brother. We have to stick together."

"Do you want to join the Hunters?" Nico blurted out. "I saw the way you were looking at Thalia." Elsa was at a loss for words.

"Nico, you do realize that I couldn't unfreeze my frozen heart if I joined the Hunters, right?" Elsa finally said seriously, looking him square in the eyes. Now it was Nico's turn to be at a loss for words. He'd forgotten that they both had frozen hearts, and he could now see it in Elsa's eyes that it was something that deeply bothered her. "I would be stuck, unable to find new love. The only new love I can feel is love at first sight. I know the Hunters don't allow romance." Nico swallowed and nodded.

"I'm sorry…" He mumbled. "I-I forgot… I—" He was cut off by Thalia coming down the path of ice. She jumped to her feet before she could fall into the snow.

"Clarisse is right behind me to save time." Thalia said, striding forward to both of them.

"Okay." Elsa nodded, speaking up softly.

"So are you Norwegian?" Thalia asked Elsa. "Your accent… It's Norwegian right?" Elsa nodded, blushing slightly.

"That is correct." Elsa murmured. "I was born and raised in Norway. I only recently came to America."

"So Nico found you?" Elsa nodded.

"It was on accident." Nico said, smiling at Elsa. She smiled back at him. He took her hand again. "We met on accident a few months back. Now we're best friends." Elsa nodded at that.

"I didn't know I was a demigod." She explained. "Thanks to Nico, I know who I am now."

"That's great." Thalia smiled at both of them. "Your powers are amazing, Elsa."

"Thank you!" Elsa gushed, her eyes lighting up.

"Your ice palace was pretty damn beautiful." Thalia went on. Clarisse slid down the ice and got to her feet once she landed in the snow.

"Let's head to the big house." Clarisse said, not looking happy. "Sparky here melted the ice enough so that my butt is wet." Thalia scowled.

"Don't call me Sparky." She warned.

"Whatever." Clarisse rolled her eyes. The group of four walked through the woods, with small mindless chatter among them. Elsa didn't participate, for she looked around, seeing what she had accomplished.

"Wow." She whispered.

"You're powerful, Elsa." Nico assured her. "You're amazing. Don't hide your powers if it makes you upset." She smiled.

"I _don't _want to hide them any longer." Elsa decided as they began to exit the woods. "I feel liberated and free. I haven't felt this way in years. I'm never hiding them again." She smiled and created a handful of snow. She turned and blew it on the others. Elsa was having fun. She was finally acting like a thirteen year old girl. Her cheeks began to color with pink.

Nico hoped that they would one day be able to act like children their age. Seeing Elsa happy made him want to be happy too, so he felt himself begin to smile in spite of himself.

As they reached the Big House, they were faced with a large question on their hands.

"Wait, how are we going to melt the ice and snow?" Clarisse asked. "I mean, we can't just wait for that to happen... It's September. It's not supposed to snow or freeze yet…"

"We'll probably think of something." Thalia murmured. "Don't worry, Elsa. We'll figure it out." Elsa, who had frowned when Clarisse spoke up, smiled again.

"How about I handle everything?" A foreign voice to Thalia and Clarisse spoke up, but Nico and Elsa knew this one all too well. Both of them visually paled, and their eyes bulged in fear. They took each other's hands and held tightly. The voice had come from above.

Suddenly, Elsa was grabbed from around her waist, over her arms, and pulled from the ground. Nico was pushed back with a force that caused him to let go of Elsa's hand. Elsa screamed.

Khione stood on a cloud ten feet above the ground. Thalia and Clarisse realized just how serious this was. Elsa was screaming and struggling, but Khione had an iron grip on her. Tears leaked from Elsa's eyes and froze on her cheeks.

"Let me go!" Elsa screamed. Campers began to notice the noise, and people came out of the Big House to see what was going on.

"Elsa!" Nico yelled.

"I will always win, Nico di Angelo." Khione chuckled. "You will never see Elsa again." With that, Khione disappeared. A silver arrow went right through where she had been, and Thalia let out a frustrated noise.

"Gone…" Nico croaked. "Elsa's… Gone…"

* * *

**A/N: Bet ya'll didn't see _this_ coming in THIS chapter.**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: ****There is a slight TRIGGER WARNING for the last part of the chapter. I'm not sure what to call it, unfortunately, so just beware when reading it. It's nothing physical, so don't worry about that.**

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There was another Big House meeting. Tears stained Nico's cheeks. Thalia and Clarisse looked devastated.

"I'm going to find her." Nico vowed, his voice hoarse.

"We'll look for her too." Thalia promised, speaking for the Hunters. "Where can we find Khione, Chiron? Where would she have taken Elsa?" Chiron looked tired and worried.

"What do know is that Khione is the child of Boreas, the god of the northern wind." He said slowly. "He resides in Quebec."

"But where in Quebec?" Thalia asked. "The province is fucking huge." She looked around at some shocked faces at her language. "Sorry," She sighed. "Rough day." There were murmurs of agreement. Nico scowled. Nobody had it as bad as he did. None of them understood. They didn't understand what it was like to have the only true friend you've ever had—essentially your sister—kidnapped right in front of your eyes, and taken away by a goddess who had been out to get both of you for a while, and whom you had forgotten about.

"The city _inside _the province." Chiron clarified.

"Well, that does narrow it down." Thalia sighed. "But what to do when we actually find Elsa…"

"You can't do anything." Nico mumbled. "Khione is too dangerous. She—she freezes people's heads, sending them into a deep coma where they can be only be saved by an act of true love. Elsa nearly died in one of those, and she's Khione's _daughter._ Anyway, that's only if Khione's being _nice._ She freezes hearts too. She froze both mine and Elsa's hearts. Those too can only be thawed by true love, but this is more circumstantial. Khione… She's bad news." He swallowed. "She-She has no mercy. Don't go after Elsa unless you have a god or goddess on your side. Neither of us could take her. Elsa is one of the most powerful demigods I've ever seen—and as she ages, that power will only grow—but she can't defeat Khione."

"What are you talking about, Nico?" Thalia snapped. "We all know _you're_ going after her. _Alone._" She was right, and Nico didn't even try to deny it.

"Well, Thalia, the difference between us," Nico began stiffly. "Is that Elsa was the only thing I had to lose. But now I've lost her. So I'm going to get her back, or die trying. She's the only thing I have left. All of you have something. I have nothing. Elsa was the one thing keeping me here." Nico stood abruptly and stormed out of there. He made his way to the Hades cabin. All the ice and snow was gone from Camp Half-Blood. Elsa's ice palace was gone. Just like Elsa. Everything she had put there, besides her memories, was gone.

Except her belongings inside of the Hades cabin. But Nico was going to put those in a safe place to make sure that nobody would find, take or steal them. He opened the door of the cabin, where the bag was right inside. He hid it under a bed in the corner, where it would be difficult to spot or find if you weren't close to the ground or looking for it.

Nico squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself against the wall of the cabin.

"I'm coming for you, Elsa." He whispered. "I'm going to find you."

* * *

Elsa screamed as she was transported from Camp Half-Blood to some foreign place. She was shoved to the ground by her mother. Elsa let out a cry as she hit the ice floor, catching herself using her palms. It hurt her hands, absorbing the shock of the impact.

"Guess what Elsa?" Khione purred condescendingly. "You're going to be my _slave._ I told you this would happen. And now it has."

Elsa winced, looking up at Khione with fear in her eyes.

"What do you want from me?" Elsa asked, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Right now?" Khione smirked. "I want you to put on the uniform I have laid out for you in your room." Khione pointed to a door way. "Don't make me use force, _Elsa._" Elsa nodded, scurrying through the doorway. The walls were plain inside the tiny room. There was a bed, but it looked more like a cot than anything else. There was nothing else to the room. Just the bed. The walls were plain. The doorway was the only thing interesting of the four walls. On the bed was a white traditional Greek dress with a halter neck. Elsa removed her clothes and put the dress on. Underneath were accessories and jewelry along with a pair of shoes.

Elsa put on the tan leather colored traditional Greek sandals almost like she had done it a million times before, though she had never put them on before. The second she touched them, she knew what to do. The same went for the jewelry. There was a short choker. It was a white ribbon with a silver snowflake charm and two little chains on it. There was another necklace composed of several tiny chains. There was a silver belt with chains, and headband with multiple tiny chains. There were two chain bracelets, and two chain anklets. Everything but the larger necklace immediately fit perfectly upon putting them on. Elsa had re-braided her hair to a braid down the middle of her back. After Elsa put everything on, she noticed that she couldn't take the jewelry off. She began to tug at it, panicking. She rushed back out to Khione who was waiting for her.

"Oh, you can't take those off." Khione informed Elsa smugly. "Those are there to stay. They're magical. Because you are wearing them, I have complete control over you. Your powers will only work if I want them to, and only in ways that I want them to. You can't even speak if I don't allow you to." Elsa tried to speak, but she physically could not. "Do you want to speak?" Khione smirked at Elsa, who nodded furiously.

"What about Nico and the others?" Elsa got out. "They'll look for me! They'll try to find me!" Tears rolled down Elsa's cheeks. She was desperate.

"Oh, they won't remember you." Khione smirked, brushing it off. "Why don't we watch as Nico forgets who you are, and that he ever even knew you, the way everyone else you met at Camp Half-Blood will." Elsa made an inhuman noise of sadness.

Khione laughed, creating a screen of ice. A projection of Nico in the Hades cabin came from who-knew-where. He was crying, talking to Elsa, promising that he would find her, even though he had no knowledge that she was indeed able to hear. Elsa began crying harder, reaching out to Nico with a hand.

"Three… Two… One…" Khione snapped her fingers. The noise echoed more than it should have.

* * *

Nico looked up from the floor. Why was he crying? He didn't know why. He stood up straight, wiped away the tears, and stepped away from the wall. He felt… Nothing…

Why was he at Camp Half-Blood again? Nico didn't know why…

He frowned, confused.

* * *

"Oh, let's add some fake memories of ordinary life for Nico, too." Khione purred. Elsa cried harder, shaking her head. This was torture for her. But Nico would never know that his heart was frozen. Unless Nico managed to thaw his heart on accident… It would remain frozen his whole life.

Not only would Elsa lose her best friend and brother, but Nico would never be able to fall in love with anyone but one person. And he didn't even know the cause of this.

* * *

Nico then remembered. He was checking out the new Hades cabin and then he'd thought of Bianca, thinking of how she might react upon seeing how he had grown and everything had changed. He wiped away his tears, put on his jacket and sword, and left the cabin, hands in his pockets, wondering where he'd go next.

* * *

That night, as Elsa lay in her cot, her shoes, accessories, and jewelry still on, she remembered. Bianca and Anna still remembered her. They still cared.

She tried to hold onto that.

* * *

**A/N: And that is how GK,SQ fits into both the PJO and HOO series.**

**Please check my polyvore (Link is on my profile) for the update that goes along with this chapter.**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry that this is a short chapter, but I decided to just brush over the stuff that is talked about here because if I go into too much detail, it could trigger someone. This chapter is pretty intense, let me just warn you. TRIGGER WARNING for mentions of almost every kind of abuse (not just physical) and if you have depression, please listen to a happy song after this and eat some avocado. (I really care about you guys, just so you know. This is a symbiotic relationship.) But if you are confident that you can take it, please listen to Human by Krewella. I listened to it while writing this. And just in case, if you can't read this chapter, or finish it,_ it is perfectly okay to message me and ask me what happens_. I want all of you to know this. I will not judge, okay?**

* * *

Elsa didn't know exactly how long she'd been stuck as Khione's slave. She couldn't see outside, therefore she was unable to see the sun or the moon in order to track days or months passing.

The chains, while she wore them, not only put her powers and actions under Khione's control, but they also gave Khione control over Elsa's aging, so she no longer aged. She supposed that she would be stuck at thirteen forever…

Elsa underwent all sorts of abuse from the snow goddess. She went through physical, verbal and mental abuse. Every day brought only more torture and abuse. Apparently it made Khione drunk with power. Elsa was once again isolated, and she felt like she was going to go mad. She was stuck with only Khione as company, who only made everything a million times worse. Elsa felt trapped. She _was_ trapped. In the belly of the beast.

Nobody but Anna and Bianca remembered _and _cared about her. Neither of them could help Elsa now though. They couldn't save her. Nobody could save her.

Once inside her room, Elsa would whisper to herself, telling herself lies to give herself strength, thought it rarely worked. She would imagine Anna's face, though the thought of abandoning her sister brought her great pain. But she held on for Anna. Thinking of Nico brought only more pain because he didn't remember her. She'd been erased from his life like a mistake. Perhaps she was. Perhaps it was better this way.

Elsa almost always cried herself to sleep. She couldn't see the bruises, and scars, but she knew that they were there, for she felt the pain the moment she entered the bedroom. It was difficult to fall asleep with the pain she was forced to lay on. She would cry from all of the pain—mental and emotional. Elsa was alone. She had to cope with everything alone. She sometimes even wrapped her arms around herself when she was in bed, trying to comfort herself. It didn't work.

Eventually, Khione brought Elsa in front of Boreas, and warned him not to set her free. She threatened Zethes and Calais when they were made aware of her. Khione made it clear that Elsa was to be treated as an object to do their bidding, and nothing more. And do their bidding was exactly what Elsa was forced to. She was left with deep mental and emotional scars.

Elsa almost preferred it when it was just Khione. Whenever she saw any of the Boreads, she felt sick to her stomach. She kept her eyes fixed to the ground, and her face void of any emotion. Elsa kept her figurative mask on. She couldn't let fear or any other emotion show. That would show weakness and vulnerability.

Sometimes, when Khione was feeling especially cruel, she would force Elsa to see clips from Nico's life without Elsa. His horrible, tragic life… He needed someone in the worse way possible, but he had nobody. Not since Elsa had been taken away. He couldn't even remember her. Elsa felt so much pain when she was forced to see Nico in need of someone. She had to really try in order not to cry for him. She somehow succeeded in not letting anyone see her cry ever.

She began to feel less than human. She was told as much almost every day, anyway. Elsa kept everything on the inside until she got to her bedroom. Some nights, she was deprived of even that. Elsa had never missed her bedroom so much during those nights.

Elsa wanted to bathe in boiling water. She wanted to throw her body in scalding water and wash everything away, especially the memories.

Sometimes Khione froze Elsa's body in the throne room. Elsa wanted to cry with relief when Khione did this. The cold didn't bother her, so it was actually an escape from everything. She was forced to hold one position for a long time, but it was better than almost all of the alternatives.

She began living day to day. Elsa qualified a day as the time between when she was allowed to go to her bedroom and sleep. She held onto her sanity and strength for just the day, let it all out at night, then the next day began, and she held on for the day. The cycle happened countless times.

Elsa walked the lonely circular road many times. Her bedroom was a bench of rest on the long difficult path she trudged along each day.

Besides when her body was frozen in the throne room, and when she was allowed to go to her bedroom to sleep…

The truth was…

Elsa had nothing left.

Nothing to hold on to.

Nothing to hold on for.

Nothing to look forward to.

Nobody.

Nothing.

* * *

**A/N: If you couldn't finish reading this, or read it at all, or you have questions about anything, do not hesitate to message me. I will NOT judge you. **


	36. Chapter 36

Elsa was still experiencing her own personal hell.

Honestly, she had just decided to accept it. She just went day to day, that was it. She had no more emotions. Unfortunately, she had stopped feeling. She felt nothing anymore.

The pain? Elsa was used to it.

The physical trauma? Used to it.

The verbal abuse? She was more used to it than anything else.

Elsa had accepted everything that came from being Khione's slave. She had finally submitted and come to expect everything that came from it. What else could she do? Nothing.

One night, classified that way only by her being allowed to go into her bedroom to sleep, Elsa remembered some belongings of hers. She knelt by the bed, and reached under the thin rectangle that she supposed could be classified as a mattress, pulling out pieces of jewelry that she had hidden the first night she'd been there. Elsa had forgotten about that…

Her crown, her necklace, and her ring.

The small gold tiara with the little jewel in the middle.

The necklace consisting of a copper medallion with the lotus blossom stamped on it, hanging from a ripped black ribbon.

The silver ring with the carved angel wings outstretched.

Elsa slipped the ring on the middle finger of her right hand. Something lit up inside her, but she decided that it was just her emotions igniting again. She tied the black ribbon around her neck, and straightened the little medallion. The feeling rose up again. Elsa decided again that it was just emotions again. Such as hope. But that wouldn't do her any good. She had no hope. Not even when two demigods came to visit Boreas. Elsa had been there, frozen as a statue in the corner, unnoticeable. The demigods came and went. Elsa was still trapped. A lot of time seemed to have passed between then and the current time, when Elsa found her jewelry again.

She cradled the tiara in her hands. She would have to take the jewelry off when she woke up. Khione would probably take it away from her if she saw it on Elsa, and the blonde would lose her only source of comfort. That's something else she could finally identify… When she put the jewelry on, Elsa had felt comfort, as well as hope.

Clutching the crown in her hands, Elsa laid down on her side, curled in fetal position on the bed.

That night, for the first time in several months, she dreamed.

The next morning Elsa somehow felt… Older… Stronger… When she awoke from her slumber. She could not see how this was possible. She wasn't aging. But she looked at herself, and she seemed to have aged… How could this be?

Her chest had matured, which was a large shock. She was taller; exposing her chained ankles. Her hips were wider; poking out of line on her dress, which was more stretched across her body now. Her feet were bigger; spilling over the constraints of her sandals. Her hair was longer; there were several centimeters more coming from where she had tied her braid off than had been there the night before. There was more hair in places she hadn't known that hair could grow.

Elsa had become a woman.

Her chains were loose. Elsa's eyes lit up. She removed a bracelet, and created snowflakes in her palms. She nearly laughed and cried at the same time, relieved. This had to mean that Khione could no longer control her.

Elsa put the chain bracelet back on. She put the crown on, feeling strength surge through her body. She closed her eyes, feeling it rush through her body. She had never felt more strong or powerful. She checked under the mattress to see if there was anything else that she might want or need under there. Her dagger with its belt… Elsa lifted her skirt and strapped it to her right thigh; the dagger on the outside of her leg. Elsa was ready to face her birth mother.

She strode out of the bedroom. Khione stood in the room Elsa had walked into, her back to her daughter.

"We have a mission." Khione said, looking over some sort of map she had created out of ice on the floor. "Elsa, we're going to have to eliminate some demigods. Mother Gaea might risk being defeated. We must defeat the demigods before it's too late, and Gaea is overthrown. Sadly, a blizzard or freeze won't do it in this part of the world… It would raise suspicion, and it wouldn't work fast enough. We're going to have to kill them."

"No." Elsa said softly. She was surprised at her own voice. It was deeper than it had been before.

"What did you say?" Khione spun around shocked. "Why are you wearing those? I thought you didn't have those silly things any more. It's been ten months since you got here… Take them off." She ordered. Elsa realized with a tug in her gut that it was July… It had to be her fourteenth birthday… Elsa smirked, realizing why she had such power now.

"No." Elsa repeated. "But I will take some jewelry off, Khione, since you insist upon it."

With that, Elsa took off the headband, careful to avoid knocking off her tiara. She held it away from herself at arms' length, and dropped it on the ice floor. Khione was dumbfounded, and could only stand still, gaping at Elsa. The princess reached behind her neck, and unclasped the long necklace, letting it drop to the floor. She unclasped the choker, leaving her Arendellian necklace still on her neck, and held it at arm's length, dropping it on the floor to meet the headband. She unclasped her belt, letting it fall to her feet with a clank. Elsa, in a moment of snarkiness, gave Khione an over-exaggerated smile with wide eyes, sticking her face out forward while unclasping a bracelet, and having it hit the floor. She reached over and unclasped the next bracelet. Both of them made a satisfying sound as they fell on the ground. Elsa bent over, reaching down to take of the chains around her ankles, casting them aside. As her grand finale, Elsa unlaced her sandals, kicking them away. They didn't fit anymore, so what was the point?

"Khione, you no longer have control over me." Elsa said calmly. She smirked. "I'm free now. I could leave right now if I wanted, but I know that won't do very much." Her smile faded. "You'll just come after me again and again. You will never leave me alone, or those I have and will come to love, will you, Khione? No, you won't. If I left, I would only be delaying the inevitable. Well, Khione… Here I am now. Look at me. Just look at me. I don't have anything to lose anymore, thanks to you. I won't back down until you're gone, Khione. To you, I may just be your demigod daughter, but that's where you are wrong. I know your weaknesses, Khione. You froze my heart. Fear is my enemy. Love controls my powers. You can't, for the life of you, find love of any kind, and that terrifies you to no end. It terrifies you that your own daughter can find love while you can't. I hold love in my heart, and I have found more and more reasons to love those in my heart. I love them with everything inside of me. But the ones I love most… Nico and Anna… The love I hold for them will fully open the door of freedom for me, but it will bring about your destruction." Elsa'd had a lot of time to think. Almost a year, in fact. And she was more than ready to destroy the snow goddess.

She figured that the trolls had taught her so much about using the love in her heart because they knew that this was coming. They had the first prophecy, so why not another about the current events?

Elsa stood up straight.

"I will kill you Elsa." Khione warned through gritted teeth, her voice shaky with anger. The goddess was livid. "You're dead to me."

"Don't worry." Elsa smirked. "I'm ready for a fight." And with that, all of hell broke loose.

* * *

**A/N: I wish I'd been able to reccomend that you listen to Break Free by Ariana Grande while reading this chapter, but I couldn't spoil anything for you. DX Do me a favor and reread it while listening to Break Free? Please?**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: I did get some questions and confusion, so I'll explain that in a minute. But first, I would like to make a HUGE, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.**

**This is the LAST chapter of GK,SQ. I know, I know: I said that there were 40 chapters, and this is only chapter 37. Well, the easiest way of explaining the reason... Instead of there going to be ONE sequel, there are going to be TWO sequels. No, the universes will NOT correspond. In fact, they will do the opposite. I'll talk more about this at the end of the chapter. (I'm sorry it's so short... Last chapter could have been the last, but I decided to give you guys some warning, and put out a little drabble in order to talk to you guys. I wrote this chapter this week, so... Yeah.)**

**Now, as for how the jewelry caused Elsa to be able to break free... I forget exactly what was going through my mind at the time, because I wrote it several weeks ago. But here's my current interpretation. So, it might have seemed like Elsa was holding onto love while she was trapped, right? Well, she was, but she wasn't holding onto the trues, purest, most unconditional love that she had the capacity to feel: her platonic love for Nico. That was too painful for her. In my mind, true love means loving them despite all of the pain, heartbreak, and sadness that you can feel because of them. You will go through all of their pain with them because you love them. You'll go pretty much anywhere or do almost anything for them (even though you might have a few limits). Now, Elsa was holding onto the least painful love. Her love for Anna and Bianca. She couldn't love Bianca because she didn't meet Bianca until _after_ her heart was frozen. She cared about Bianca, she just couldn't love her. She physically could not. Now, with Anna, Elsa was going for the easy love. The love where it would cause her the least amount of pain. Yes, it did cause her pain to leave Anna to keep her safe. That was true love. But this love wasn't strong enough to set Elsa free. The ring, when she put it on, unconsciously reignited the true love she felt for Nico, which was the strongest. Remember; the love Nico felt for Elsa was able to thaw her frozen head. The ring, which was from this time, reminded her how much he loved her. This love was strong enough to overpower the fear that Khione imposes on Elsa, and it broke the hold Khione has on her. The crown unconsciously reminded Elsa of when Nico literally climbed a mountain just to get her and comfort her, and of what she gave up in order to be with him, which she did not regret. The necklace unconsciously reminded her of how she began to love him (platonically); when she was trapped in her room. Two people who were isolated from everyone else came together and found platonic love with each other. Elsa decided to take the pain with the love, and this is what broke Khione's hold. The fact that she was no longer pushing away the most important love that she could feel. I hope this explains stuff better... If not, feel free to PM me with your questions. **

* * *

Elsa knew that the stakes were high in this battle. It would almost certainly be the last one between her and Khione. It had to be a fight to the death between the two of them. Elsa just couldn't go on like this; constantly worrying about whether or not Khione would find her. Wondering if she was finally safe… Living in constant fear…

This would be make it or break it. All or nothing. Winner takes it all. Life or death.

She'd known this when she chose to fight her mother for the last time.

The battle could only go two ways… Either Khione won, and Elsa was killed, or Elsa would win, and Khione would be the one to be killed.

Frankly, Elsa admitted to herself that she was scared. Who wouldn't be? Only a fool wouldn't be scared of what she was about to do. Elsa knew that courage wasn't not being afraid; it was facing your fears. And this was what she was doing. Facing Khione. This was inevitable, as she'd figured out. Elsa had just decided to do this sooner rather than later. Get it out of the way. She'd save herself worry over when this would happen.

Going into this, she was aware of everything. She knew that she could die doing this. Or she could live. But still. Elsa chose this road. The road with the fork in it. The two paths. Her destiny was no longer in her hands. It rested with the Fates. It was up to them now which path she'd travel down. She only hoped that things would turn out right.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry that this was so short, but I have good reason. The last three chapters were going to help lead us into the sequel. Now that I have two sequels going in different directions, I had to quickly throw something together this week, so that's why it's so shitty. **

**The reason I came up with another sequel? Well... I was chatting with my good friend MagicWriterK after last chapter, and we were talking about what might happen. I jokingly suggest some ideas on things that were not planned, and then I began thinking about them... And I fell in love. I fell in love with the ideas. So I started writing a few of them rolled up into one. This new idea wasn't going to fit with the last three chapters, so I had to move those to the other sequel; the one I already had written. Don't worry; you'll still get to read both. It's just that one of the sequels will be more realistic, and the other is more ideal. **

**You can read both, neither, or one, but not the other. It doesn't phase me either way. But hey, it's a trilogy, right? Oh, BTW, the theme song for this whole series is Hanging Burning Chandelier Tree, which is a mashup of Hanging Tree, Burn, My Blood, and Chandelier. It's really good. I listened to it a lot while writing for this series. Please give it a listen.**

**Thank you to everyone who has followed the road that is GKSQ up to this fork. **


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